Drunk driving: The passenger can also be in trouble
Created: 03/19/2022, 08:28
By: Sebastian Oppenheimer
Anyone involved in an accident as a passenger is usually not at fault.
Unless the driver was obviously drunk.
Schleswig – It is actually widely known that it is not a good idea to get behind the wheel while drunk.
A dashcam video released by British police shows just how dangerous drunk driving can be.
A drunk driver in Canada left a trail of destruction in his SUV.
Sometimes it's just luck that nobody gets hurt - as in a dramatic case in Mexico, when a supposedly drunk woman got out of a van that rolled away with three children.
What not everyone knows: If you sit in the car with a drunk driver, you are liable for your injuries in an accident, as reported by 24auto.de.
The passenger can also be in trouble if he sits in the car with a drunk driver.
(Iconic image) © YAY Images/Imago
Drunk driving: The passenger can also be in trouble
This also applies if the passenger himself was under the influence of alcohol, as the Schleswig Higher Regional Court (Az.: 7 U 2/20) ruled.
In the case under discussion, a driver with a blood alcohol content of 1.68 caused a serious traffic accident in which his unbelted passenger was injured, who had a blood alcohol content of 1.70 per thousand.
The passenger demanded a high compensation from the insurance company due to the permanent damage he had suffered, which the insurance company refused.
The reason she gave was that the passenger had to realize that the driver had been drunk.
Verdict: Accident with a drunk driver - co-driver must be credited with contributory negligence
The man denied this and went to court.
The district court allowed the lawsuit in part.
However, the co-driver had to be held accountable for one-third of the fault.
He breached his duty of care by getting into the car with the driver who was obviously intoxicated.
The fact that he was heavily under the influence of alcohol, which the court judged to be negligence, did not change that.
By drinking alcohol, the plaintiff had put himself in a state in which he no longer had the necessary insight to protect himself.
(With material from SP-X) *24auto.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.