Lorraine Explains: Does your kid have consent to drive your car?

Like many relationships, it’s complicated. A recent court case was resolved in Ontario that clearly delineated something that gnaws at many parents’ peace of mind when there are cars in the driveway and keys within reach. What if my wonderful offspring steals my car without my permission – and crashes it, causing damage and injury or worse?

While the onus is on the owner to prove they didn’t provide consent, the law takes into consideration the components of a household. In the above case, “the son had never previously attempted to take the car without his mother’s consent. The mother routinely hid her keys in her bedroom because she did not trust her teenage children. The mother had explicitly denied her son’s consent to take the car on the evening in question.

If you have a vintage Mustang or a high powered German sports car in the garage and have told your licensed, live-at-home kiddo that they may not drive it under any circumstances, you have to make a choice: either have them on your policy or sign an exclusion form. But you can’t “just this once” or “only in an emergency” this clause. If you give permission for that excluded person to drive that car and something happens, your insurance company will be suing you.

In another case from 2012, a young man lived at home with his parents. His licence was suspended in 2005 and his truck sat idle until his mother transferred ownership into her name in 2009. Fast forward to 2012: the parents were away, and the son – licence still under suspension – drove the vehicle while impaired, was involved in a crash and injured someone. The son admitted to police he did not have permission to be driving the truck.

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