Liability of Learner Drivers- A Stand to Behold.

The liability of learner drivers or Drivers with learner's permit is an issue of concern to all. On the one hand, the law and indeed the society as a whole seeks to protect and preserve the ignorance of the leaner, and on the other hand, the law seeks to protect the lives of other innocent drivers plying the roads too.

For the purpose of this work, some terms will be taken to mean the following:

• Highway: includes any roadway to which the public have access to and is controlled by the state.
• Steering Wheel: means a wheel-shape that a driver places his hands on while driving, especially for the purpose of controlling the vehicle.
• Learner Driver or a Driver with Learner's Permit: means a person who is a freshman to roads or who is not yet qualified to get the valid driver's license.

HOW TO OBTAIN A LEARNER'S PERMIT
In Nigeria for a person to become a learner driver or obtain a learner's permit, the person would:

• Obtain form MVA 15
• Pay a prescribed fee
• Attend a driving school approved by Federal Road Traffic Corps
• Obtain a pass from driving school with 3rd issue learner's permit
• Drive for at least three months accompanied by an instructor who is a licensed driver
• Affix 'L' sign on the front and rear of the vehicle
• Tested by the appropriate authority after the 3rd issue of the learner's permit for a period of not less than 3months.

These are found in section 27 of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2004.

THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO AS A LEARNER DRIVER

1. Driving Alone: By standard, a learner is required to always drive accompanied by a person sitting by his/her side in the vehicle.
2. Don't drive with another learner that only has a learners permit like you.
3. Failing to Renew Your Licence or Upgrade it: every learner's permit issued in Nigeria expires in just 90days (3months). Try to visit the FRSC office before the expiration date and apply for another one.
4. Forgetting to Remove/Add the Learners Sign Before Driving: many learners do this if they share the same car with their spouse or partners who have already gotten a drivers license. They may either forget to add the learner's sign to the car before taking it out of the road or to place the sign on a car being driven by an expert driver. If anything goes wrong and such a driver is stopped by the authorities, the person will have to present a valid licence and no other.
5. Disobeying Safety Rules: there same are a lot of safety rules and regulations,  every driver should know. For instance, drivers should not drive with one hand, or keeping your hand at 12 o'clock position(the top) or sometimes at 6 o'clock position (the bottom) on the steering wheel. Let your hands always be at 9 and 3 o'clock ( right and left side) on the steering wheel, so that you can easily and properly control the car even if there is a sudden emergency on the road.

Other regulations a driver should keep include driving with the seat belt on and obeying traffic rules. Most times these regulations are provided in statutes, so failure to obey them may lead to arrest and prosecution by the appropriate authority.

WHAT IS THE POSITION OF THE COURTS AS REGARDS LEARNER DRIVERS: LIABILITY OF LEARNER DRIVERS

The law is basically divided into two: criminal law and civil law. The major distinctions are that in the criminal law the state or police or other appropriate authority, in this case, the Federal Road Safety Corps prosecute offenders and its always a crime against the state(society). However, in civil law, it's an individual that sues another to court and therefore, it involves a wrong committed against an individual or a person.
Usually, a single offence can lead to both criminal and civil law. In the case of learners drivers if you drive negligently and maybe somebody gets injured, then your act is an offence against the state(criminal) and a wrong against the victim injured(civil).

In such civil cases, the court has not been very quick in being nice to learner drivers and at many occasions hold the drivers liable.
The reason behind this attitude of the court was given by Lord Denning in the case of Nettleship v Weston where he stated that 'a learner driver must do his best as a driver of skill and care who makes no errors of judgement'

The reason for this according to Kodilinye and Aluko is that a car is
'a lethal weapon and public policy require that the strictest possible standards of care be maintained by the learner drivers.
Hence the court places the learner driver in the same position as an expert driver because the danger that may result in their negligence is too dangerous to require otherwise.

Therefore in the words of Lord Denning in the same case, 'a learner driver might be doing his best, but his incompetence best is not good enough. The law holds the same standard to all'.

In conclusion, one can say for the fact that you are a learner driver doesn't mean you should endanger others. You can't practice driving while putting other's lives in danger. Hence you must be extremely careful in all capacity when you choose to ply the road. You owe a duty of care to your fellow drivers and other pedestrian and anyone who will be affected by your actions or inactions on the road.

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