Q&A: The Laws of Borrowing
The Laws of Borrowing
Question
To the honored gaon, may he live long and well,
Greetings as is fitting,
If I may “steal” from your time—”a Torah-level theft”—and ask forgiveness afterward, I would like to ask a question that was posed to me.
A case occurred involving five yeshiva students who traveled for the Sabbath to their rabbi, and for that reason borrowed a car from one of the married kollel students. Only one of them had the legal ability to drive. On their return trip, one of the students who was sitting next to the driver held the Waze device and updated the driver when there was a turn and the like. Further along the way there was a turn, and before it a traffic circle, but there was some distance between them and the circle, and at that point he was supposed to continue straight, so the student holding the Waze did not inform him. The driver noticed too late, his reaction was delayed, and the car was involved in an accident.
It requires analysis whether they are all considered joint borrowers, and if so, upon whom the obligation to pay for the damage falls.
With the blessing of an ordinary person,
The youngest of the students,
His student through his writings
Answer
I did not understand the description. I understand that the one holding the Waze was negligent. In any case, the one who is liable is the borrower. Therefore it does not depend on the question of the negligent party’s identity, because the car was borrowed, and so the liability is by the law of a bailee, not by the law of one who directly caused damage. If all five borrowed the car, then all of them together are liable for the damage. If among them there is only one who is at fault, then perhaps there is room for them to make a claim against him. But that is not relevant to the owner of the car.