Sunshine Hotline Case 1:

[Brief Introduction to the Case and Focus of Dispute]

At around 19:40 on January 11, 2008, Shen, a villager from Group 8, Xinqian Village, Dangwan Town, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, rode an unlicensed electric vehicle from west to east to the T-shaped intersection of Yimin Group 12, Yipeng Village, Yipeng Town, Xiaoshan District. Due to a crack on the south side of the road, the difference between the south and north sides of the crack was about 10 centimeters, causing him to fall and be injured. However, after being rescued by the hospital, he died and the electric vehicle was damaged.

Based on on-site investigation, witness testimony, and inspection and appraisal conclusions, the following determination is made regarding the accident: Shen drove an electric vehicle without obtaining a motor vehicle driver's license and was not registered with the public security organ on the road, and operated improperly during driving, Its behavior violates the provisions of Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Road Safety and Traffic Law of the People's Republic of China: "To drive a motor vehicle, a motor vehicle driver's license shall be obtained in accordance with the law." Article 8 stipulates: "The state implements a registration system for motor vehicles. Motor vehicles can only be driven on the road after being registered by the traffic management department of the public security organ. Unregistered motor vehicles that need to be temporarily driven on the road shall obtain a temporary pass Article 21 (1) stipulates: "Motor vehicle drivers shall comply with the provisions of road safety laws and regulations, drive safely and in a civilized manner according to operating standards." In this accident, Shen Yonghua's traffic safety violations were the direct cause of the accident, and he shall bear full responsibility for the accident.

Within six months after the incident, his family repeatedly requested an explanation from the government of Yipeng Town in Xiaoshan District, where the accident occurred. However, they refused any compensation on the grounds of the victim Shen being fully responsible for the traffic accident, which was determined by the Traffic Police Brigade of Xiaoshan District Branch of Hangzhou Public Security Bureau.

Due to the lack of consensus between the two parties, Shen's family brought the town government to court.

Dispute focus: 1. Can the responsibility determination of the public security and traffic police department serve as the basis for determining the division of responsibility in the trial of cases by the people's court? 1. In this case, Shen was fully responsible for the accident. Can the town government exempt him from responsibility?

[Key Points of Judgment]

The responsibility determination of the Xiaoshan Traffic Police Brigade is based on the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, the Implementation Regulations of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Regulations on Traffic Accident Handling Procedures. Its determination of traffic accident responsibility has an administrative nature, while the People's Court is based on the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China and relevant judicial interpretations. According to Article 4 of the "Notice on Issues Related to Road Traffic Accident Cases" jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security (i.e. Fa Fa [1992] No. 39), "If the people's court considers that the responsibility determination made by the public security organs is indeed inappropriate during the trial of a traffic accident, it shall not be accepted, and the facts determined by the people's court shall be used as the basis for the final decision So the accident liability determination letter can only be used as evidence in civil cases tried by the people's court.

The court found out that the location of the incident was a village level road built by the town government. There was a crack on the south side of the road, and the difference between the south and north sides of the crack was about 10 centimeters, which directly caused the electric vehicle driven by Shen to lose control of its brakes and cause the accident.

The court held that in this accident, the victim Shen drove without a license and did not wear a helmet. He neglected to observe the road conditions while driving, and the speed was too fast to lose control. These behaviors were the main reasons for the accident. The defendant town government, as the construction investor and actual manager of the village level highway, did not pay sufficient attention to the existence of cracks and their impact on driving safety, and should bear secondary responsibility for the accident.

After mediation by the court, the defendant town government compensated 30% of the accident losses, which is RMB 40000.