Money Moral Dilemma: Should I pay my friend's speeding fine?

Former_MSE_Darryl · 25 April 2014 at 10:30AM

Here's this week's hypothetical situation for you to cogitate on:

Should I pay my friend's speeding fine?

A friend of mine was giving me a lift one night, and was caught by a fixed camera and given a speeding fine. As he was going out of his way to drop me off, should I pay his fine?

Click reply to have your say

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Tiggy10 · 29 April 2014 at 8:41PM

No way! Its not your fault your friend was speeding. He could have been driving anywhere NOT out of his way and been caught- his choice to speed, he has to face the consequences.

ALR · 29 April 2014 at 8:53PM

No, definitely not! You weren't the one driving the vehicle, you had no control over the speed that you were going, so it wasn't your fault that your friend got a speeding ticket! They may have been going out of their way but all you should justifiably give is a contribution towards the petrol it may have cost them! Them going out of their way isn't an excuse for their speeding.

pc1271 · 29 April 2014 at 9:23PM

Did you ask him to hurry because you were late? In that case, then as a friend I'd offer to pay it. Otherwise, absolutely not.

svmitche · 29 April 2014 at 9:46PM

Unless you were putting on the pressure to get there quick, no way! It's his choice to break the speed limit...

scotsbob · 29 April 2014 at 11:29PM

Depends if you expect any more lifts, or favours, from this friend.

If you don't then don't pay.

If you do then you may want to consider helping your friend out, after all he helped you out.

mr-tom_2 · 30 April 2014 at 6:11AM

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.

macaroni · 30 April 2014 at 7:28AM

No, not unless you asked him to drive quickly/speed. He is responsible for his driving, not you, even if he was doing you a favour.

rachiibell · 30 April 2014 at 7:34AM

I agree with other posters unless it was your fault one or both of you were running late then personally I wouldn't pay. As the driver I wouldn't accept a friend paying anyway as it would be my own fault. Maybe offer to take them out for a meal or a drink if you feel bad and would like another favour in future.