Solving the Problems of the Carrier
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Legal Liabilities of a Drive-yourself Hire-car Business
Government Intervention in Hire-car Business Possible: Risks That a Driveyourself Hire-car Company Runs and How to Avoid Them (710NCLUDING •the reference in the previous artiele to
some of the legal aspects of taxicab and private-hire
car work, it is Of interest to note that, just prior to the war;an intefedepartmentai. coMmittee was set up on cabs and pritrate--hire vehicles; it issued its interim report early in 1939e This comniittee came into being as a sequel to the trouble raised by London taxi. men,, who levied the charge against certain operators of private hirecars, as .coming in on the taxi busine4s although not -subject to the coniprehentive regulations which apply to the taxicab. This committee suggested certain formsofcontrol and restriction. For example, no two-door four-seater car was to be used as a, hire car, and that no vehicle capable of seating three passengers, in addition to the driver, was to be of less than 10 h.p.
Every operator letting out cars on hire was to be licensed.. The licence holder was to keep records, with full partitulars of every hiring, and, the driver to keep a log. It was suggested that the same conditions aS regards hours of duty for drivers as those in Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, were to apply to drivers of hire-cars who, were also to be paid wages and be employed under_ conditions governed• by the fair-wages clause.in,Government. contracts.
The driver was to be specially licensed, a41 to carry a badge._ The Officers of both the licensing auThority and the police were to have powers to inspect the vehicles. at all times as well as the records that were to be kept by the licence holder. .
To the best of My knowledge nothing was done with this report, and it is likely that the committee suspended operations for the duration -of the war. The report, together with furthet recommendations, is, nevertheless, likely to be in the nature of a forecast of things to come, and those who are concerned with this hire-car business should he on the qui vie to note ii.the inter-departmental committee sets to work again so soon as the war is over.
The -legal aspects of the drive-yourself hire-car business are of a different order from those discussed in the previous article relating to taxicabs. and private-hire cars; that hackney carriages.. In preparing to -hire out cars under the former system the operator mutt guard against legal liabilities which might arise if he did not provide against them.
When-the Hirer Drives In the case when a car is let out on hire with a driver, the operator is in a position to know all that goes on while the car is Out of his sight. It is hit own driver's responsibility to give him a full and proper report in which he will describe anything which has happened, especially any untoward incidents. Not so in the case of a car which is hired without the driver. Such a car is not only out of sight, but it' is completely out of mind and may be used for anything, legal or illegal. Moreover, the hirer may have an accident; the effect of which, is not immediately apparent. That being the case, the man wishing to evade responsibility and possibly payment On *mint of .repairs, says nothing about it. The trouble occurs, of course, if the car be let out to another man, neither the operator nor the .hirer knowing there is anYthing seriously the .matter with it. On the other hand, if a car, be hired out with driVer then the liability for the aCcident is on the operator becausethe driver is his servant. In the case of an accident arising in connection with a drive-yourself hire car, that liability does not apply. It falls upon the actual driver of the car. The operator, the owner of the vehicle, is not concerned.
In order, however, that there shall be no doubt as to the responsibility for anything of the kind, the operator should take care that_ every transaction is a written one, on a simple printed form which plainly states that the car is at the customer's risk and is not warranted, and that the owner undertakes no risk whatever as. to accidents.
Those are the principal points: there are others, however, as the following brief summary Of the form of contract used by Drivehyre Cars, Ltd., indicates.
At first reading,. many of the regulations and conditions under which this concern "lets out its cars seem to be somewhat stringent. Consideration, however, of them, leads inevitably to the conclusion that there must have been some well-founded reason for the inclusion of these clauses in the contract. .
In other words, although .I have no knowledge of the fact, it seems to me quite likeiy that when it 'first started in business this company used a much more simple form, and less rigid in its terms and conditions as applied to the hirer. As time Went on, additional clauses were found to be necessary in order to protect the company against the risks which arise in connection with this form of business.
The first thing to note about this contract form is that, on the face of it, the hirer signs the agreement that he is hiring the car without warranty as to fitness for use or otherwise.
Absolving Hirer from Liability He further agrees that he has read the regulations (printed on the back of the contract form), and that he will he bound by them in every de:tail: that he understands that the insurance in respect of the car will not remain in force beyond the period for which he has hired it. This, presumably, means thai•if he drives the car after that date he is liable. at law: for the offence of driving a car which is not insured. He absolves the hirer company from any . liability from any cause whatsoever, and it cannot he held responsible for any delay, injury, or consequential loss. He adds that he has examined the vehicle and is satisfied that it is in roadworthy condition'; that he has tested the lights and found them to conform to current. regulations.
Then comes a clause which. I presume, is a war-time one because, under present conditions, hire cars can be run only in accordance with the regulations relating to the use and issue of petrol. In this clause he declares he will not acquire any further motor fuel for consumption, or allow any motor fuel to be used in the vehicle other than that provided, by the owners, and that he will not use the vehicle or cause it to be used otherwise than in accordance with the Statutory,Rules and Orders now in force.
The customer signs" the contract below' the foregoing agreements and declarations. It should be emphasized that he, has agreed that he has read the regulations which are printed on the reverse side of this document. • •
I will deal briefly with these regulations in the order in which they are printed. In the first, hirers are requested to return cars pthrnptly and, in the second, the company reserves the right to refuse the hire or continue to hire a car without being-obliged to state a reason. Regulation No: 3 Says it is prohibitive for anyone except the hirer to drive the car unless he has complied with the terms of hiring as if he were the hirer, and is to be subject to these regulations and to the terms of the insurance company.
In the next regulation, NO. 4, it is pointed out that the hirers are expected to attend to and pay for any roadside adjustments that may be necessary. In the event, however, of any major mechanical breakdown the hirer le to
instruct -the nearest Austia dealer to collect the car and, at the same ,time, communicate with the DriVehyre company's head office at Newport. It is emphasized that DrivehYre Cars, Ltd.: will accept the responsibility for repair provided that the hirer be blameless, but it is stipulated' that no work must be commenced without a wlitten sanction. Hirers are asked not to expect the company to pay for the repair if the car has been run while short of oil or water, as the result of. which the breakdown, has occurred.
The fifth regulation is perhaps the most important one, dealing as it does with insurance. It stipulates in the first place that the hirer's liability todamage to the car in normal circumstances is £5 or the cost of the repair: whichever be the lesser amount. ThiS' in respect of every acciclent.
-Readers will recall that in an earlier article I referred to the fact that it was usual for operators, when letting cars out on drive-you'rself hire, to insure them on the basis Of a £5 excess.
Therefollows a clause which points out that it the car has been obtained for hire by false or misleading information then, in the eVent of damage, the full cost of repairs shall'be paid by the hirer.
Licence and Age Conditions
The hirer Must have held an unendorsed current driving 'licence for more than 12 .months and be over 21 years of age. He Must be `eligible to comply with the conditions of insurance which are in force, Which conditions he may fead:on. application at the company's head office.
14 accepting a car thehirer agrees to be bound by the
• terms, conditions, and 'exceptions of the insurance policy in
force at the time of the hiring. : --It is einPhasized that the ,hirer is a principal arid in no way the agent of Drivehyre Cart, Ltd,, nor acting nor driving on its behalf. This clause emphasizes the point I made earlier in this article, In the event of an accident the hirer is to notify the Company in writing within 48 hours, or when the car is returned, whichever be the earlier, with full information of accident, claim, loss or damage to the car or damage io third persons, and must take the names and addresses of all avail6ible, witnesses of the accident and, furthermore, give -all necessary assistance as may he required by the insurers. He undertakes not to make any admission of liability or promises of payment to anY third party in connection with
an accident without the written consent of the insurance company.
If the car be damaged the hirer must take such steps as to ensure the safety of the vehicle and advise the company immediately as to the circumstances. . That concludes cialise 5 dealing With the matter of insuranee' and procedure in case of accidents. •
Under clause 6 the company states that it cannot undertake to replace: tyres or wheels damaged -or stolen while the vehicle is in charge of the hirer. The cost of the darnage.or replacement is to-be paid by the hirer up to the limit of f5'at in the case of repairs nec'e'ssary as the result of damage arising from an accident.
Clause 7 states that 'all hire shall be paid for in cash nit advance. In the case .of a period contract, if the hire payment falls in arrear the contract shall-be at an end, and a representative of DriVehyre,Cars, Ltd., will have the right to take repossession of the car. 'Cheques, in any event, are not acceptable.
Need For Exercising Latitude Presumably, as in most business transactions, the extent to which this clause will be applied in the strict letter will he determined by the company's knowledge of the customer. • Without such elasticity it seems to me that some difficult, almost stupid conditions, might arise.
The same comment extends to the next paragraph' of clause 7 which states that hire cannot., be extended by telephone. The hirer must attend personally during office hours at the, depot from 'which the car was hired to ascertain: (a) whether the car is available; (b) to pay any casn amount due for extension; (c) to renew insurance cover. It seems to The that in normal times 'when the limit of 75 miles, applied under existing fuel restricting regulations, Is nut in force, it might frequently happen that a hirer either on a business Cr a pleasure tour might find it impracticable to comply with this regulation, and there ought to be some means whereby he can obtain such extension as has been found necessary as the result of the exigencies of the situation in which the ffirer finds himself.
Before an advance booking can be accepted the hirer, must complete a hiring contract and an insurance proposal . form, and, having been accepted by the depot concerned, pay in cash one half the value of-the hire.
The final clause, No. 8, stipulates that no .allowance or refund of money can be made for anypetrol left in the tank of a car on its return frOm.