The vehicle owner is the person at whose expense and risk the operation of a vehicle takes place. They are also the one with the permanent power of disposal. Of course, they can be a natural or a legal person, what’s important is to know their rights and obligations.
The owner of a vehicle can be established based on who bears the vehicle costs (tax, insurance, etc.). If the vehicle belongs to a company, the management becomes the default owner. They assume responsibility for any damage, unless the task has been explicitly delegated to another responsible party.
Transfer of owner liability for a vehicle fleet
In companies, it is possible to transfer owner liability and owner obligations from the management to another responsible person; however, there are a number of conditions that must be adhered to in the process. It is only possible to delegate owner liability if a corresponding agreement has been defined in the employment contract or job description, or if the person has been specially commissioned to accept it.
Remember: only a personally and technically qualified individual may assume the liability burden on behalf of a company’s management. As such, if a company wants to hire a fleet manager, it must make sure that the chosen person has sufficient expertise and the appropriate means to act. This means that a fleet manager must have training or experience in this area; otherwise, owner liability reverts back to the management. Even where owner liability has been transferred to a fleet manager, the management must perform regular spot checks as to whether this is proceeding in a correct manner.
Which control measures must be carried out?
The fleet manager must take appropriate precautions to minimise the number of incidents for which they can be held liable or, ideally, eliminate them at all. For example, they must verify the eligibility of every driver (e.g. through driving licence checks), test the technical and operational status of each vehicle with regular checks and supervise the securing of loads. They must also be familiar with accident prevention regulations and the company car leasing contract.
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