How to bear the responsibility for the accident of "good intentions"?
【Zhuhai lawyer, Zhuhai legal consultation, Zhuhai law firm, Jingshi law firm, Jingshi Zhuhai law firm】
The first case is said
About author:Zhu Zheng, practicing lawyer, director of Beijing Jingshi (Hefei) Law Firm, national senior economist. The Supreme People's Court and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council have specially invited "general to general" mediators, consulting experts for civil and administrative litigation supervision cases of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and provincial people's procuratorates, member of the Bankruptcy and Reorganization Committee of the 8th All China Lawyers Association, member of the 9th Company Law Professional Committee of the All China Lawyers Association, executive director of the 8th and 9th Anhui Lawyers Association, executive deputy director of the Disciplinary Committee, Anhui lawyer mediator determined by the Anhui Provincial High People's Court and the Anhui Provincial Department of Justice, and Anhui Provincial Civil Code He is a member of the lecturer group and an arbitrator of Hefei, Lu'an, Suzhou, Dezhou, Zibo, Rizhao, Jincheng, Suihua, Guyuan, Jiaxing and Puyang Arbitration Commissions.
Editor's note:
The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China came into force on January 1, 2021, and as the first law named after the "Code" in New China, the Civil Code is a milestone and is known as the "encyclopedia of social life". Each article is related to all aspects of social life and the clothing, food, housing and transportation of each of us, and regulates the personal and property relations of various civil subjects, from basic principles to specific laws, from civil rights to market economy, from private life to personality rights, from birth to death, the Civil Code affects the life of each of us.
In order to let readers further understand the new changes in the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, we have specially opened a column of "First Case Statement" and invited lawyer Zhu Zheng, director of Beijing Jingshi (Hefei) Law Firm. He will combine the Civil Code and take the first case that has just been tried in various places as an example to interpret it in detail.
1. Background of the case
In the early summer of 2019, Jiang, who was in his 50s, met with his colleagues to drive in southern Anhui. Early on the weekend morning, Jiang drove his newly bought off-road vehicle and set off from Nanjing with his colleagues, and there were four people in the car at that time.
After they arrived in Anhui for lunch and rest, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, they drove to the next scenic spot, at this time, Liu, who was sitting in the back row, suddenly suggested changing the itinerary, and after everyone had no objection, the vehicle drove on the temporarily changed route. On the way, the off-road vehicle driven by Jiang overturned and fell into a roadside reservoir, and the driver Jiang, Liu, and another colleague were killed, and only Zhou, who was sitting in the passenger seat, survived. In 2020, the family of the deceased Liu filed a lawsuit with the Qinhuai District People's Court of Nanjing City, demanding that Jiang's family bear full responsibility for the accident, and filed a lawsuit of 1.1 million yuan, including death compensation and funeral expenses. Since Jiang did not purchase on-board personnel insurance, the insurance company would not be liable for these expenses, and Jiang's family said that they were willing to pay a certain amount of compensation, but could not afford such a high amount of compensation.
On January 4, 2021, the case was openly heard in the Qinhuai District People's Court, and the presiding judge explained the provisions of the Civil Code on "good intentions to ride together". After mediation by the court, the plaintiff agreed to reduce the amount of the claim in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code on "good intentions to ride", and the defendant also recognized the plaintiff's adjusted amount. The original defendant finally reached a mediation agreement, and the case was successfully mediated and concluded.
2. Legal Interpretation
Article 1217 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that "if a traffic accident involving a non-operating motor vehicle causes damage to a passenger without compensation, and the liability of the motor vehicle party is the responsibility of the motor vehicle, its liability for compensation shall be reduced, except where the user of the motor vehicle is intentional or grossly negligent".
"Ride with good intentions", also known as hitchhiking, refers to the behavior of drivers who accept other people's requests for rides out of good intentions or take the initiative to invite others to ride in their own vehicles, and its essence is the behavior of "kindness and favor" between people. In daily life, for those who own cars, it is normal to pick up colleagues on the way to and from work, and travel by car with relatives and friends. However, such a common thing contains great legal risks. In the previous law, due to the lack of relevant provisions on "good intentions to ride", after a traffic accident occurred during the hitchhiking process, the driver was required to bear all the responsibilities except for the insurance company's claim. In reality, because the driver and the passenger are in the same space in the car, when a traffic accident occurs, the driver will inevitably not be injured, overemphasizing the protection of the interests of the passenger, requiring the driver to bear the responsibility of no fault for the passenger, which not only increases the economic burden of the driver, but also seriously restricts the goodwill behavior of "goodwill ride", which is objectively not in line with the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation of helping others and helping each other. However, in view of the limitations of domestic public transportation and the rampant phenomenon of black cars at that time, in order to maintain social stability and standardize the driving environment, the Tort Liability Law did not provide for "good intentions to ride together", resulting in the phenomenon of "different judgments in the same case" in judicial practice.
In recent years, with the continuous regulation of the operating environment of public transport, the limitations that once influenced legislation have disappeared. Moreover, with the development of Internet technology, "hitchhiking" has become one of the important ways for residents to travel, which is of great benefit to solving urban traffic congestion and reducing carbon emissions. In practice, the lack of a clear legal basis for the dispute over damages arising from "good intentions ride-along" has caused great trouble to trial practice, and the judge can only reduce the driver's liability for compensation based on the value considerations of public order and good customs. For the first time, the Civil Code has made special provisions on the principle of attribution and exemption from liability for "good intentions ride", clarifying that the liability for fault shall be applied to "good intentions and rides", and the liability for compensation shall be reduced unless the user of the motor vehicle is intentional or grossly negligent. The promulgation of this rule will help standardize the environment of co-ride, promote the good social atmosphere of mutual assistance and mutual love, and will also provide clearer legal guidance for disputes arising from other good-intentioned acts of benevolence other than "goodwill ride-along", which is conducive to the development and stability of society and promotes the core socialist values of "harmony and friendliness".
3. Lawyer reminds
As a kind gesture of giving favors and helping others, "kindness rides" is worthy of social advocacy. Although the Civil Code clearly reduces the liability of drivers in some cases, in the process of driving, drivers should also fulfill the duty of care and safety and abide by traffic rules. In addition, capable car owners should also purchase commercial insurance for their fellow passengers to reduce their financial burden of paying compensation to their fellow passengers.
For passengers, it is also necessary to have sufficient safety awareness and refuse to ride in vehicles that do not have driving qualifications and vehicles that do not meet safety standards. During the ride, fasten your seat belt and take safety protection measures to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers!
Contributed by Zhu Zheng
Editor: Qian Kaixia