Nearly two months after the Honda car was hit and repaired, the owner of the car paid 300 yuan a day to rent a BMW to bear the responsibility of the perpetrator. The court ruled that

Li, a man driving a Honda, was hit. During the maintenance period, he rented a "BMW" car for 14700 yuan to go to and from work, and asked the person who was fully responsible for the accident to bear the cost. Will the court support this? The Hunan High Court recently announced this case.

A man's Honda was hit, and he spent 300 yuan a day renting a BMW to replace it for nearly two months

In July 2023, the vehicle driven by Mr. Wang collided with the vehicle driven by Mr. Li because it did not keep to the right when meeting. According to the public security traffic control department, Mr. Wang is fully responsible.

The damage of Mr. Li's vehicle (source: Hunan High Court)

Since the vehicle maintenance took nearly two months, Mr. Li spent 14700 yuan to rent a BMW due to the inconvenience of getting off work during this period. The photos released by the court showed that the car hit by Li was a Honda.

During the trial, Mr. Wang applied for additional insurance company as the defendant and believed that the insurance company should compensate.

The insurance company believes that the insurance company has already paid for vehicle maintenance. The two expenses claimed in this case are indirect losses, which should not be borne by the insurance company according to the insurance terms; The insurance company has fulfilled the obligation of prompt and explanation.

The People's Court of Taoyuan County held that Mr. Wang was fully responsible for the accident. Although Mr. Wang believed that the loss should be compensated by the insurance company, he had received the statement of exemption matters from the insurance company and signed it. The insurance company had fulfilled the obligation to remind and explain the part of its exemption, so Mr. Wang should be responsible for the reasonable loss of Mr. Li.

The depreciation loss of the crashed vehicle. According to relevant regulations, only in a few special and extreme cases can appropriate compensation be considered for vehicle depreciation losses. In this case, Mr. Li's vehicle has been purchased for nearly a year and has driven more than 10000 kilometers, which is not a new vehicle and does not conform to the above situation. We did not support Mr. Li's claim for the loss of vehicle depreciation.

The picture shows the damaged vehicle, which will take nearly two months to repair (source: Hunan High Court)

About the cost of alternative transportation. According to the relevant judicial interpretation, if the non operating vehicles cannot be used any more due to traffic accidents, the reasonable expenses of the alternative means of transportation shall be compensated by the infringer. Since Mr. Wang was fully responsible for the accident, the vehicle maintenance period brought inconvenience to Mr. Li's life, which resulted in alternative transportation costs. The calculation of this cost should follow the principle of rationality and necessity. The court, taking into account the value of the vehicle in the accident and the daily travel needs of the vehicle users, decided that Mr. Wang should calculate the cost at the standard of 100 yuan/day.

Finally, the court ordered Mr. Wang to compensate Mr. Li for the cost of alternative transportation of 6100 yuan; Reject Li's other claims. After the judgment was pronounced, neither party appealed, and the judgment has now come into force.

The judge said that it was unreasonable to rent a high-end car as a substitute

What is an alternative means of transport?

After a traffic accident, the owner of a non operating vehicle cannot use it, so he has no vehicle to use in his daily life. At this time, the owner may incur costs related to taking public transport, renting a car or taking a taxi, which belongs to the loss of alternative transport.

Can all alternative transportation be compensated?

Lease Contract (source: Hunan High Court)

Taking public transport, renting a car and taking a taxi are all alternative means of transport. However, according to the relevant judicial interpretation, if the non operating vehicles cannot be used any more due to traffic accidents, the reasonable costs of alternative means of transport incurred shall be compensated by the infringer. The principle of reasonableness and necessity shall be followed for alternative transportation costs.

How to measure rationality and necessity? First of all, the purpose of this expense is for daily transportation needs. Non operating vehicles are generally private cars, which are used to commute to and from work, pick up and send children, etc; Secondly, it should be reasonable. Public transport and taxi are generally considered as reasonable alternative means of transport; Third, if the maintenance time is long and the demand for using the vehicle is high, you can also choose to rent a car. However, the purpose of renting a car is to take the bus, and renting a high-end car does not meet reasonable requirements.

Jimu News Comprehensive Hunan High Court, Taoyuan County People's Court