Disparities between the country's new traffic safety legislation
and outdated insurance rules were exposed in a lawsuit Thursday in
Beijing.
The Road Traffic Safety Law, passed in May, was pitted against
older regulations after an insurance company refused to pay
compensation for a fatal road accident.
Liu Binghua knocked down and killed a Sichuan
Province farmer last August while operating a crane at night in
Beijing. At the time local officials said it was impossible to
determine whether the area was clearly marked, so no decision was
reached on the cause of the accident.
Chaoyang District traffic control department nevertheless
ordered Liu to pay 100,000 yuan (US$12,100) to compensate the
victim's family.
According to the Road Traffic Safety Law, when accidents
resulting in injuries occur between motor vehicles and pedestrians,
insurance companies should pay compensation within the parameters
of compulsory third party insurance. Any compensation beyond that
is the responsibility of the driver.
The crane driver was insured for 50,000 yuan (US$6,000) and Liu
asked his insurer to pay 40,000 yuan (US$4,800).
However, the Beijing Branch of the Property and Casualty Company
Limited of the People's Insurance Company of China refused and Liu
sued the insurance company, demanding that it pay up. The case’s
first hearing was held yesterday and no decision was reached.
Zhang Yong, an insurance company representative, said it had not
paid out because officials had not found Liu responsible for the
accident. He told the court that, although Liu had personally
shouldered full responsibility for the accident, there was no
confirmation of this as the official position.
According to his insurance policy, which was approved by the
China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the amount of compensation
is fixed in relation to the insured's responsibility for an
accident.
"The traffic control department is obligated to identify
responsibility for the accident. It is their omission that has
resulted in the current dispute," said Zhang.
But Liu says the new Road Traffic Safety Law makes the issue
black and white. "When there is contradiction between the law and a
contract item, the law should be enforced," he said yesterday.
Zhang said he hoped new municipal regulations relating to the
law’s implementation will resolve disputes. The Standing Committee
of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress was due to vote on these
today.
According to Jiao Hongchang, a law professor at the China
University of Political Science and Law, "The two laws are not
currently harmonious, which endangers the interests of vehicle
owners."
Jiao called for more financial assistance from the government.
"Establishing a social insurance fund to deal with compensation
toward victims in accidents should be our goal," he said.
(China Daily October 22, 2004)