What to do if your child is joyriding?

Questioner

Our son (15 years old) went to a party of friends, the parents were not present. The party got out of hand and our son went joyriding under the influence of alcohol with the car of the family where the party was. The key was within reach. He had a single-vehicle accident, and the car is a total loss. What can we expect? Also insurance-wise?

Lawyer

There is a good chance that your liability insurance offers coverage for private individuals because your son is younger than 18. You should be able to find this in the terms and conditions of your AVP insurance. In any case, you are liable for the damage. Having a car key visible in the house with young people of this age is not irresponsible. Your son may be given a community service order under Article 11 of the Road Traffic Act. Make it clear to him that if he is caught a second time, he may face a prison sentence of 6 months. If I were you, I would contact your insurer and report the case. Then give the name of your insurer and the case number to the owner of the car. He can then arrange it further with your insurer. For the community service, you can ask the police what they plan to do with the case; this will probably be a punishment via Bureau Halt. In short, don't bury your head in the sand but deal with the matter in a businesslike manner. Your son will have become sufficiently clear by now that this was extremely stupid and that he is lucky to be still whole.

Lawyer

I hope your son is doing well because I read reports that a 15 year old was recently seriously injured in something like this.

Lawyer

I checked again, but for joyriding without violence (so without breaking a window of the car or breaking into the house to get the key) your insurer will only pay out if the car in question was not insured. So if the owner of the car does have a third party insurance with limited casco coverage for the car, it falls under this insurance. In short, the owner of the car will have to rely on his own car insurance.

Lawyer

First of all: if the police are not involved yet, you should not give them the idea to pay attention to your son, so don't call them, but educate them yourself. Furthermore, find the insurance policy of your own WA insurance. As a parent of the minor child, you are liable under the law.