Unlicensed, Incompetent, or Reckless Driver

In Texas, there is a duty not to allow an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle. Texas Transportation Code Section 521.458. The Texas Supreme Court has said, “The entrustment of a vehicle to one who has no driver’s license is negligence per se. If afterward such driver operates the vehicle negligently and thereby causes damages to a third person, proximate cause is shown between the negligence of the party controlling the vehicle and the damage to the third person.” Mundy v. Pirie-Slaughter Motor Co., 206 S.W.2d 587 (Tex. 1947).

Negligence per se means that the conduct is considered negligent because it violates a statute (or regulation). On the other hand, a legally required, an unrestricted license is prima facie (accepted as correct until proven otherwise) evidence of a party’s competence to drive.

Without specific evidence that the driver was otherwise incompetent at the time of entrustment, the case will be dismissed in favor of the defendant. See Avalos v. Brown Auto Ctr., Inc., 63 S.W.3e 42, 28 (Tex. App.- San Antonio 2001, no pet.).

A driver’s incompetence or recklessness is determined at the time of the entrustment. You must show that the driver was more than merely negligent. Evidence of conduct after the time of entrustment is not admissible. Generally, one prior bad act will not prove that the driver was reckless or incompetent. One needs to show many prior bad acts of recklessness or incompetence to prevail in a negligent entrustment claim.

The following are some of the types of evidence that we would use on a case-by-case basis to prove incompetence or recklessness:

• Prior accidents
• Prior citations
• Driver’s driving history and habits
• Driver’s condition or state or situation at the time of entrustment (for instance, lending a vehicle to a person under the influence of alcohol)

Owner’s Knowledge

To win a negligent entrustment claim, the Plaintiff must show that the owner either knew or should have known about the driver’s incompetence or recklessness at the time of the entrustment. There is generally no duty to investigate further if the driver provides the owner with a valid driver’s license. However, the owner may have a duty to further investigate if there is additional evidence at the time of entrustment which might show that the driver is incompetent or reckless.

Driver’s Negligence Caused Injury to Plaintiff

Finally, you must be able to prove that the driver to whom the vehicle was entrusted was negligent and caused an injury. This must be proved in every automobile accident case. If the driver isn’t at fault for causing the accident, then the owner will not be held liable. One must also prove that the driver’s negligence was the cause of the injuries suffered.

In our fact pattern above, we are able to show that Juan is responsible for negligently entrusting his vehicle to Larry. Larry did not have a license to drive. The entrustment to Larry by Juan is “negligence per se” because it violates a statute found in the Texas Transportation Code prohibiting lending a vehicle to an unlicensed driver.

There are many times when the injured party may need to sue the owner of the vehicle in addition to or instead of the at-fault driver. For instance:

• The injuries exceed the driver’s liability insurance limits; or
• The driver cannot be sued or is insolvent or does not maintain liability insurance.

When our clients are seriously injured in an accident, we look at all potential sources of recovery, including holding the owner of the vehicle responsible for negligently entrusting their vehicle to an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver.