If a motorcycle passenger does not wear a protective helmet, the responsibility falls on the driver.

February 03 , 2025 // Specialty : Liability derived from the use of motor vehicles

Published in Noticias Jurídicas

The Valencia Provincial Court, in its ruling 56/2024, established that, in the case of an accident in which the passenger of a motorcycle does not wear a protective helmet, the responsibility falls exclusively on the driver.

In the incident in question, the plaintiff suffered a series of injuries and after-effects in an accident when she was riding a motorcycle. Initially, the Court of First Instance determined that there was a concurrence of faults, assigning 75% of the responsibility to the affected party. However, this decision was overturned by the Court, which decided to attribute full responsibility to the driver for the damages suffered by the occupant.

The driver did not take precautions
The facts proven in the first instance ruling indicated that the accident was not caused by the lack of support of the occupant or by the inclination of the road, but by the absence of the helmet at the time of getting on the motorcycle, since the driver assumed that the affected party was already wearing it.

The court concluded that the fact that the passenger got on the motorcycle without a helmet and tried to put it on at the start of the ride did not imply a concurrence of fault, since she did not have control over the driving. The court also considered that the accident could have been avoided if the driver had been attentive and had made sure that the passenger was wearing a helmet before starting off. The sentence also highlighted that the start was abrupt, which increased the driver's responsibility.

In conclusion, the Provincial Court determined that the responsibility for the injuries suffered by the passenger fell exclusively on the driver of the motorcycle, who did not take the necessary precautions to guarantee the safety of the passenger by not verifying that she was wearing a helmet before starting off.