Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay my friend's speeding fine?
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Friends give each other lifts all of the time; it's what friends do. I would imagine that a large proportion of drivers caught speeding have a passenger in the car at the time and I would also imagine that those drivers do not blame their passenger for the fact that they have been caught speeding.
Has your friend asked you to pay the fine or make a contribution to it or is this your own idea? Unless there is any reason why you feel that you are to blame for your friend speeding I think that he should take the consequences for his actions. They are his actions, not yours. You were merely a passenger and, although your friend was doing you a favour, you are not at all responsible for his mistake.0 -
So the penalty must legally remain in their name (i.e. They take the points); failure to do tell the truth about the driver can land you in prison (even if you're an MP!)
Whether you offer them some money to share the cost of the ticket is at your discretion and depends on the circumstances of the incident. As others have said:
-were you or the driver late for something? if so, whose fault was the lateness?
-were you distracting the driver?
-regardless of that will this impact your friendship and are you dependant on future lifts?
If you were the cause of lateness, hurry, were a distraction or if you are worried about this impacting the friendship /likelihood of future lifts, then by all means offer to pay half the cost of the fine to your friend as a goodwill gesture.
I am quite a fan of yellow fixed speed cameras that are sensibly sited. They don't catch people speeding, they catch people who are speeding WHERE they aren't looking where they are going; the principle being that if you can't notice a huge dayglow yellow box that's visible from some way off, you'll probably also not notice the child wandering out between two parked cars.
I have no problem with speed, I just think the driver ought to pay attention, which I think is a reasonable demand.
Before anybody replies to say, "ah, but I was caught by a mobile or disguised speed camera so you're talking rubbish", note that I said "yellow fixed speed cameras that are sensibly sited". And if I recall correctly, there is regulation prohibiting the disguise of cameras - the driver must be warned and the cameras must be visible from a considerable distance, which increases in line with the speed limit.
A pleasure to read such a thorough and sensible answer!0 -
This is another one of the moral dilemmas to which the answer is so obvious I wonder why you bothered to ask it. The excuse that the driver was going out of his way to give you a lift is irrelevant. He was driving the car, whether to break the speed limit is his decision, end of story0
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Obviously for the fact you had a gun to his head then it's only reasonable that you pay the fine for his speeding.
Oh, you didn't?
Then he can choose how much he wants to put his right foot down then.
Give him some money for the petrol, sure, but not for his silliness.0 -
As with pretty much all of these 'should I pay' dilemmas, you should offer to pay and he should refuse your offer.
If he takes you up on the offer he's not a good friend, and it'll have cost you the price of a speeding fine to find that out. Money well spent perhaps?0 -
What a ridiculous question. He was in charge of the car by driving it. He pays.0
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You should thank him for giving you a lift, reimburse him for his petrol, and do him a favour or buy him a drink as thanks for his time.
His choice to speed (and his lack of attention in failing to notice the speed limit / big yellow camera) are his own affair, not yours.
Don'y offer. If he is asking you to contribute, ask him why? How is this in any way your responsibility?
Its also worth bearing in mind that most people have habits in how they drive. It's unlikely that this is the only time he's ever broken the limit, it just happened that this was the time he got caught.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
As others have said, if you were hurrying your friend along, then I would offer to pay half as a goodwill gesture. Your frieed may even refuse your offer if they feel it was their fault entirely. Mixing money and friends can be a delicate situation.0
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What a ridiculous question, you did not ask them or encourage them to speed I assume so why on earth should you pay......0
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It happened to me! I was driving a friend home one night (on a road I was unfamiliar with). I can't remember if he was giving me directions at the time, but suddenly I saw the flash, and braked as the second flash came - too late! Got done 36 mph in 30 mph area. (I am told up to 35 mph I would have 'got away with it').
I am going to do a Safe Drivers Awareness Course, at least I don't then get points on my license.
I wondered whether I should have stated in mitigation the reason that I was speeding past the camera was that I was too drunk to notice it !!! (not true!).
BTW I haven't asked my friend for any contribution.Thank you for reading this message.0
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