A car rear-ended another, a scooter was knocked over, another two-wheeler on the ground a few hours later. On Monday, August 24, in Ain, three crashes punctuated the day, from Lurcy to Villieu-Loyes-Mollon. Each time, the driver described as the collision’s victim ended up being the one at fault. A day that brutally illustrates what can happen when a non-fault accident collides with alcohol or drugs.
Beyond the incident report, these three cases pose the same question. How can you be struck and not be held responsible for the crash? And still wind up in police custody or summoned? In each case, the status of victim clashes with the Highway Code and with insurance law. A situation that reminds us that a driver at fault can be hiding another. And that, even without being the origin of the crash, a motorist or scooter rider can face big consequences. On the criminal side as well as financially.
Three crashes in Ain, same day, same pattern
The first crash happened around 9:00 a.m., in the town of Lurcy, in the Saône Valley. For an unspecified reason, a car rear-ended another vehicle. The screenings carried out by the gendarmes showed that the driver of the struck vehicle tested positive for alcohol and drugs. He was described as not responsible for the crash. He is to be summoned later.
In the early evening, around 7:45 p.m., a scooter was knocked over in Divonne-les-Bains. Its rider, a man in his forties, also tested positive for alcohol and drugs, and was subsequently ticketed. He became agitated, insulted the gendarmes, and ended up in custody. Around 8:50 p.m., a third crash occurred at Villieu-Loyes-Mollon. A motorist had braked abruptly when a scooter following closely behind struck him. The young scooter rider, 16 years old, was left on the roadway. The motorist eventually returned to the scene and had to explain himself in custody.
Non-fault crash, alcohol and drugs: what happens to the driver?
In French law, driving under the influence of alcohol, punished by article L234‑1 of the Road Code, constitutes a crime. The same applies to driving after drug use, covered by articles L235‑1 and following. These offenses carry heavy fines, potential prison time, and the loss of points on the license. A suspension of the license, or even confiscation of the vehicle, may also be imposed. These offenses are pursued independently of the driver’s responsibility for the accident. A driver legally not at fault can therefore be charged for alcohol, drugs, insults, or a potential hit-and-run. In the event of bodily injury, the police systematically conduct alcohol and drug testing at the scene. This mechanism explains why apparent victims can end up at the center of the investigation.
From the standpoint of auto insurance and compensation, the 1985 Badinter Law guarantees, in principle, compensation for road-traffic accident victims. Article L211-6 of the Insurance Code states that a clause removing liability coverage in cases of driving under the influence or drugs is deemed unwritten. Concretely, even if he or she has been drinking or using drugs, a driver who was not at fault retains the right to be compensated for damages caused by the other vehicle, through the other driver’s insurer. If the at-fault driver is uninsured or unidentified, the state’s guaranteed damages fund may step in, but never to benefit the negligent driver. By contrast, the insurer of the driver who tested positive may refuse to cover that driver’s own damages, hike premiums substantially, or even cancel the policy. The Court of Cassation’s jurisprudence also allows reducing compensation to a driver-victim when his or her own alcohol or drug use contributed to the severity of injuries. This is a significant point, especially given that alcohol is involved in roughly 28% of road fatalities in France and that the combination of alcohol and cannabis multiplies the risk of a fatal crash by fourteen, with around 600 deaths each year in crashes involving at least one driver who had used drugs.
