insurance and driving other people's cars

[Andrew Bohan]

last month i got pulled over in my fc for speeding. i'm not the registered owner and the car is not insured, but the cop didnt' seem to care that i didn't have proof of insurance. is that because it's not legally my car so it's not my responsibility to insure it? what could the cop have done to me, and to the registered owner, if he wanted to? can someone show me some actual california law about that kind of thing?

thanks

[obsolete]

got lucky?

[Phlip]

Luckier than all hell, if you get stopped as the DRIVER of the car, you can be ticketed if the car is not insured... In NC, they will not even let you drive it away and MIGHT even take you downtown.

[FaLKoN240]

Wait, who is the car registered to? Also IIRC the ticket for not having proof of insurance is like. . .$700. You betta' get that surance' yo.

[Andrew Bohan]

yeah i know no proof of insurance is hella expensive ticket...but it's not legally my car... so not legally my responsibilty? and does the registered owner get in trouble, cuz he wasn't the one driving. not even in the car.

and another similar question, my fc doesn't have any cats and some other smog equipment is missing. since i'm not the registered owner, do i get in trouble if a cop finds out?

basically what i'm getting at is, was i lucky? or is there some kind of law that says drivers who aren't the registered owner aren't responsible for illegal equipment on the car and reg and ins on the car, but are only responsible for moving violations, which are independent of the car.

[RiversideS13]

I cannot provide you any evidence for laws. but i had 3 similar situations like you and cop just let me go. So i came up with the conclusion that if you are not driving your own car, you are more unlikely getting fixing tickets. For that reason, i register my turbo charged camry under my bro's name.

[c240sx13]

wow im surprised u dont kno this

as the driver of the vechile, the driver is responsible for the vehicle, as for the insurance, the vehicle or driver needs to be insured, insurance is "proof of financial responsibility" you need to show proof of that

just because your not the legal registered owner doesnt mean your not the one responsible. if u get a dui the driver gets the ticket, not the owner of the car

[Andrew Bohan]

as the driver of the vechile, the driver is responsible for the vehicle, as for the insurance, the vehicle or driver needs to be insured, insurance is "proof of financial responsibility" you need to show proof of that.


that is what i initially thought, but i became doubtful after what happened.

if u get a dui the driver gets the ticket, not the owner of the car

that's something different. what you do with the car is separate from whether or not the car itself is legal.

so what about smog equipment? is the driver responsible for the car having illegal mods if he's not the registered owner?

[Ritz S14]

You drive the car = You get the ticket.

If the car cited for being modified, the owner can not register the vehicle without seeing a ref. Unless you pay the court ~$450 or so to waive the citation. But of course, if you decide not to pay the fine, then you pretty much screw the owner over(making him pay).

[RiversideS13]

thanks for clear that for me =)

[c240sx13]

that's something different. what you do with the car is separate from whether or not the car itself is legal.

so what about smog equipment? is the driver responsible for the car having illegal mods if he's not the registered owner?


yes, and its fucking bullshit, a cop pulled me over in my friends civic, and gave me a fix it ticket for his white turn signals. I was like, but its not my car?? and he's like are you driving it? you should know the vehicle you drive and therefore ur responsible for this vehicle, regardless if ur the owner or not. But then of course I just told my friend yeah thats your problem haha

[gotta240]

the cop was right.

people should take responsibility for what they do and what they drive. If your driving it, you should be insured on it(by your insurance, or the owners) and you should know that its a legal car to drive.

On the other hand, i believe the OWNER of the car is partially responsible for what YOU do in their car.

If you weren't responsible for a car thats not in your name, everone would just register their cars in their friends names.

[Andrew Bohan]

ok so we've established that the driver is responsible no matter who's car it is, and in my case i just got lucky.

now what about if the violation is severe enough to warrant impounding? does it make a difference who owns it now? or if its someone else's car can all they do is write the driver a fat ticket?

[unwed_transient]

an impound is an impound...no matter who owns the car. it's supposed to be legal and "roadworthy", so if it's serious enough to be impounded...it's gonna be.

[FRpilot]

and if you dont have a cat.. i hear its like a 2000 fine in california