Driving Another Vehicle Without Permission

Taking another person's vehicle without their consent constitutes theft and the law is very clear on this subject. Taking a vehicle and removing it from its designated owner's property is a criminal offence and whether it's a friend or family member's vehicle the police will look upon the matter as theft and will prosecute accordingly.

Insurance

If you borrow another person's vehicle you need to check that you are covered by either their insurance, or your own. If you have Fully Comprehensive Insurance, you are often covered to drive someone else's vehicle (with their permission). While you're driving their car, you will normally only be insured for 3rd party injury, fire or theft. So if you damage the owner's vehicle and it's your fault, you'll probably have to pay for it out of your own pocket.

It's really easy for the police to check whether a vehicle is insured and to discover the names of the policy holders. DVLA (Driver and vehicle licensing authority) records are linked into the UK's database of insured vehicles - the Motor Insurance Database or MID. This means that a number plate check run by a police officer will soon reveal whether that vehicle is insured and who the policy holder is. If you are driving the car on your own insurance (with the owner's permission), they will run a number plate check on your own vehicle to ensure that you hold a comprehensive policy which covers you to drive another vehicle with the owner's permssion.

Driving Without Insurance

If you do not have the owner's permission to drive their vehicle, you are effectively driving without insurance. If you are involved in an accident where either vehicle is damaged - there will be no means of payment for repair, replacement or costs related to an injury/time off work etc. You may incur 6 to 8 penalty points on your licence for 'using a vehicle uninsured against 3rd party risks'

Taking and Driving Away

If you need to borrow another person's vehicle you must seek their permission first. In England alone during the course of a year there are hundreds of reported car thefts which turn out to be no more than someone borrowing a vehicle without making sufficient enough attempts to notify the owner.

Speeding in Another Person's Vehicle

If you are driving another person's vehicle and you are caught on a speed camera breaking the speed limit then the registered owner of the vehicle will be the one that receives a fixed penalty notice. It will be the vehicle owner's responsibility to prove that someone else was driving the vehicle at the time.

If you do - for any reason - allow another person to use your vehicle make sure you keep a record of when they did so and for what purpose. It is also recommended that you keep all spare sets of keys in a place where only you would know to find them and never tell anyone the details of immobiliser codes or security alarms on your vehicle.