Offering lift is good but dangerous!
I have always maintained that whatever one can imagine did really happen or could happen. About five years ago, I offered a lift to two unknown gentlemen who were drenched in a torrential rain, as they struggled to get to join any commercial vehicle heading towards their direction.
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Because I didn’t know them, I couldn’t keep them in the inner cabin of my picket but the bucket.
As I was driving, thoughts of “what if any of them accidentally falls off and dies?” came to mind severally. Anyway, thank God nothing of the sort actually happened. In fact, I only recalled this event after hearing a similar story about a motorist who offered lift to an unknown hypertensive man who allegedly died in the car in the middle of the road.
Unfortunately, after handing himself over, together with the dead man, to the police, this Good Samaritan later had to go through turbulence in the arms of the law. Indeed, but for the relatives of the deceased who admitted that the man was hypertensive, the Good Samaritan could have gone to jail for life!
The Ghanaian Times issue of May 26, 2015 carried a similar story of a driver who found himself at the wrong side of the law after dumping the body of a man he had offered lift. The story has it that the ‘culprit’ had offered lift to the deceased in the bucket of his pickup van.
Unfortunately, the man died after being hit on the head by a falling metal door, while in the bucket of the pick-up. In an apparent moment of desperation and fear, the driver, together with his mate, were alleged to have dumped the body at a nearby cemetery, but later reported to the Police.
Is there any Law on offering lift to strangers?
Strictly speaking, I am not aware of any law debarring people from offering lifts to other passengers. Notwithstanding, such assistance certainly has some repercussions, especially in the unfortunate event of injuries or death of the passenger.
In the Times’report above, notwithstanding the rather good intentions of the pickup driver and his mate, they certainly will have a brush with the law.
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Motorists are, therefore, admonished to beware of whom they offer lifts to, as ‘anything can happen at any time.’ This is, however, not to suggest that we should no longer be each other’s keepers.
Can insurers of the vehicle be held accountable?
In the Times scenario, the insurer of the vehicle has no liability whatsoever. Indeed, the driver, in the first place, had violated the terms and conditions of the policy by carrying passengers in the pick-up’s bucket, which is meant for goods only.
His actions suggest that the van was full (i.e. the required number of five passengers, including the driver, were on the van); hence, he was not supposed to offer lift to any other passenger.
Though the deceased is a third party in this case, it is very clear that the law would have to deal with the driver of the vehicle on the basis of suspected criminality. Besides, the driver could be asked to hugely compensate the bereaved family, if found guilty, or in default, suffer a jail term.
What if the passenger had a Life Policy?
If the deceased had a life policy, his insurer will be obliged to pay the claim, based on both the terms and conditions of the policy, as well as reviewing details of the case of death.
If the cause of death is established as accidental, then the deceased’s beneficiary (ies) could be paid double of the sum assured, particularly in the case of a funeral policy.
The Way Forward
Much as it is understood, especially from previous pieces, that insurance is all about claims, insurers are only expected to pay genuine and verifiable claims.
It is, therefore, the responsibility of motorists to always ensure that they do not deliberately expose themselves to unwarranted dangers such as offering lifts to unknown persons.
In this regard, all stakeholders (i.e. motorists, insurers and the general public) must endeavor to apprise themselves of the vitiating factors on their insurance policies.
Moreover, motorists must be careful about whom they offer lifts to, as their generosity could be mistaken for criminality. GB
Until next week: “This is Insurance from the eyes of my mind.” — GB