Driving an electric vehicle to spontaneously burn a car, who will bear the high compensation？

　　Wen/Yangcheng Evening News reporter, Fu Yi, Guo Siqi

　　Photo/Yangcheng Evening News reporter, Guo Siqi

　　Recently, the Guangdong fire WeChat official account issued a notice that in early March, a private car in Huizhou City suddenly exploded while waiting for a red light, and then quickly burned and caught fire. It is understood that the vehicle was driven by a driver at the time, and the explosion caused the fire was placed in the trunk, driving a folding electric bicycle.

　　Electric bicycle fire safety hazards have attracted widespread attention. The driver’s electric bicycle spontaneously ignited, causing the customer’s vehicle to be burned, who will bear the loss? How should the driver improve the safety of electric bicycles? On these issues, Yangcheng Evening News reporters conducted an investigation and interview.

　　Driving: Fewer big brand electric bicycles are selected, and the battery will be replaced regularly

　　Reporters searched for relevant coverage and found that the accident in Huizhou was not an isolated case. In July 2021, a woman in Zhongshan City called a driver for drinking at a dinner. The driver placed the electric bicycle behind the trunk of the vehicle. The two were about to get on the bus. Unexpectedly, the electric bicycle caught fire and caused the trunk of the vehicle to burn. Subsequently, the fire arrived in time to put out the fire.

　　As the number of motor vehicles continues to increase, the market demand for chauffeur services is also increasing. When the owner is not suitable for driving due to reasons such as alcohol consumption or fatigue, choosing chauffeur services is a responsible behavior for safety. Due to the advantages of affordable and convenient electric bicycles, most chauffeurs use foldable electric bicycles as transportation tools, and place them in the trunk of the customer’s car when providing chauffeur services.

　　Yangcheng Evening News reporter booked a driver service on a certain driver platform, and Master Chen, who grabbed the order, has 15 years of driving experience. He told reporters that he has been a driver for five or six years.

　　The reporter observed that the folding electric bicycle used by Master Chen is relatively old in appearance, and the paint on the body is more worn. Master Chen said that the driving platform will not equip the driving personnel with electric bicycles, so they need to buy them themselves. "The car is a miscellaneous brand." When asked by the reporter how to ensure the safety of the miscellaneous electric bicycle, Master Chen said that he will go to the familiar electric bicycle salesperson to replace the battery every year.

　　Mr. Chen said that the platform will take about 23% of the income of each driver. According to the agreement signed between the driver and the platform, each driver is insured. "In the event of an accident, such as scratches and collisions, it is basically insured." He also introduced that if there is a major accident, report it to the platform for insurance. After the platform handles it, the contract with the driver will be terminated, and the contract will not be signed again in the future. "So if the accident is not serious and the cost is not large, you usually lose money to solve it yourself."

　　Another driver on the same platform, Master Peng, did not disclose the brand of electric bicycles he uses. He introduced that when signing a contract with the platform, the platform will provide relevant training for each driver, including requiring the driver to buy a 3C-class electric bicycle and maintain it frequently to ensure the safety of the electric bicycle. "We usually change the battery more than once a year. The key is not to modify it, and it is more dangerous to modify it."

　　He also mentioned that when signing a contract, he has to pay the platform a fee of one or two thousand yuan, part of which is the insurance fee. "It is said that the maximum insurance can be two or three million yuan."

　　Expert: The quality of the driver’s folding car is uneven, and regular maintenance and self-inspection are required

　　According to authoritative data, the current domestic electric two-wheeler market has exceeded 300 million, and the market size of China’s electric two-wheeler industry has reached the world’s first. According to the 2021 national fire rescue team response and fire situation data released by the Fire and Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Emergency Management, there were 748,000 fires reported by the national fire rescue team in 2021, including nearly 18,000 fires caused by electric bicycles and their battery failures and 57 deaths.

　　Lan Shiyou, executive chairperson of the Guangdong Electric Vehicle Chamber of Commerce, introduced that the folding electric bicycles are a niche category in the industry, and the production enterprises are mostly small and medium-sized, so the quality is uneven. In addition, the folding electric bicycles have rigid requirements for batteries, such as long battery life and small size, so there are situations in the market where vehicles are illegally modified to extend the battery life. "If the quality is not up to standard and illegally modified, there is a risk of fire."

　　Mr. Lan said a healthy battery would be safe in the face of vibration during driving because manufacturers take into account the vibration intensity under normal driving conditions. "However, if the electric bicycle itself has safety hazards such as loose wiring and illegal modification, coupled with bumps and vibrations during driving, there is a risk that the battery will short-circuit and cause a fire."

　　In addition, Lan Shiyou stressed that the poor maintenance of electric bicycles is another cause of fires. "Maintenance includes regular battery replacement, self-inspection of vehicles, etc. At present, many owners lack awareness of maintenance, but this is very important."

　　Most electric bicycles use lithium batteries, "and the characteristics of lithium batteries themselves are that they are more prone to energy overflow." Therefore, at present, it is unrealistic to completely eliminate lithium battery fires. But there are still many ways to greatly avoid electric bicycle fires.

　　Lan Shi has suggested that when buying an electric bicycle, you should try to choose a big brand, that is, a 3C certified vehicle, and replace the battery regularly, and do not illegally modify the electric bicycle. Secondly, electric bicycle owners can check whether the vehicle line is aging and off-line, whether the connector is loose, and whether the battery part is bulging, leaking, damaged, etc. Self-test.

　　In addition, he believes that the driving platform should strengthen supervision. "The platform can centrally purchase folding electric bicycles with guaranteed quality for the driving riders, form cooperation with the electric bicycle brands, and tailor the driving models with longer battery life; or collect the brand, model and photos of the driving riders’ electric bicycles in a timely manner, and determine whether the vehicles have safety hazards through the identification of technical experts."

　　Lawyer: The owner can ask the platform for compensation, and the platform can recover if the driver is responsible

　　The fire that took place in Huizhou in early March, according to the photos leaked after the incident, showed that the vehicle was almost burned out, leaving only the outer frame. According to some netizens, the car itself is worth a lot, and it will be a lot of money to recover compensation.

　　If a car owner encounters such an incident, how should they protect their rights and interests? What responsibilities should the driver and the driver platform bear? The reporter asked the lawyer about relevant legal issues.

　　Lawyer Zhou Hao, a senior partner of Yingke Guangzhou, introduced that legal liability should first be distinguished. If the authoritative department identifies that the cause of the accident is the quality of the electric bicycle itself causing the fire, then the driver should be held responsible. At the same time, the driver can recover from the seller or manufacturer who purchased the electric bicycle.

　　Liao Taoye, deputy director lawyer of Guangdong Datong Law Firm and secretary-general of the Lawyers Research Association of Guangdong Law Society, believes that the driver platform should bear compensation for the incident. After the driver platform compensates, if the driver is responsible, the driver platform can recover compensation from the driver.

　　"When a car owner places an order on the driving platform, a service contract relationship is actually formed with the driving platform. The owner is obliged to pay the driving fee, and the driving platform is obliged to assign the driver to complete the driving service and safely send the car to the place designated by the owner." According to Article 186 of the Civil Code, if the personal rights and property rights of the other party are damaged due to the breach of contract of one party, the injured party has the right to choose to ask it to bear the liability for breach of contract or tort liability. "Therefore, in this incident, if the vehicle is damaged due to the driver assigned by the driving platform, it is a breach of contract by the driving platform, and the driving platform shall compensate the owner for the loss."

　　As a new business model, the relationship between the driving platform and the driving personnel is still controversial. Liao Taoye believes that according to the current common platform dispatch, driving, and platform commission models, the driving platform and the driving personnel may be both labor and employment relationships. That is, the driving behavior of the driving driver is his duty behavior, and the driving platform shall bear the consequences. If the driving driver is obviously at fault in performing his duties, the driving platform can recover compensation from the driving driver after compensating the owner for the loss.

　　"If there is a labor relationship between the driving platform and the driving agent, you should buy five insurances for the driving agent. Other insurances are not yet mandatory, but it is recommended that the driving platform can purchase corresponding insurance to better protect the interests of customers, driving agents and the platform."

　　Zhou Hao believes that under the employment relationship, the chauffeur platform should also purchase sufficient insurance for the chauffeur to reduce the risk, and cannot avoid responsibility in order to reduce costs. "I think in judicial practice, it should be inclined to protect the chauffeur personally."

　　In such accidents, are the owners themselves responsible? Zhou Hao said that if the conclusion of the accident is clear that the fire of the electric bicycle on behalf of the driver caused the vehicle to be damaged, then the owner himself is not responsible. "The owner can fulfill the general duty of care, such as whether the driver has drunk alcohol or has a driver’s license." If the owner is required to check whether the electric bicycle has a fire hazard, it adds an obligation to the owner.