Caught on camera, who pays

[GoldHold]

Person A asked person B for a lift to the station after work. Person B drove through a restricted zone at the station, was caught on camera and has been issued a fine. Person B wants person A to pay. Person A has refused. Who is BU?

No good deed goes unpunished.

If I was person B, I'd feel so gutted. The signage on some of these restricted zones can be difficult to quickly decipher. If person B was unfamiliar with the location, mistakes can easily be made.

Person A should offer to pay half. Or never expect any sort of favour from person B ever again.

I think in person B's position, I'd feel like I wouldn't bother helping anyone with anything again.

This reminds me of when I went to uni... three of us used to travel together (different companies) 130mile each way. My company provided a car , other two companies paid mileage. I got a ticket for parking in the wrong zone ... my fault but we all thought we could park there. Neither of the other two passengers offered a penny even though I drove them every week and they were receiving £100 expenses a week. I probably wouldn't have took it but would have been nice to offer. I stopped the lifts.

Why? They weren't the driver!

Obviously person B might appreciate a contribution because they wouldn't have been in that location, had it not been for A requesting to take them there. These mistakes are very easy to make.

My DH was once on an unfamiliar road and a weird sign appeared meaning that if he drove straight on, he would be in breach of something or other. He stopped a car length after the sign, turned the car around and went back. Because he drove that car length past it, he got fined. We had it on dashcam so know exactly what happened. Often these fines are set up to punish people for almost nothing - and certainly not a dangerous act.

Person B should pay, but should also never do lifts again

I don't agree. Drivers are responsible for driving according to laws, restrictions etc. I assume there was a way to make the journey without triggering a fine.

I didn't dispute that, of course that's the case.

DH and I have recently had to drive to a few stations we're unfamiliar with, some of the restrictions are very poorly signposted. We didn't fall foul of them but would have been quite easy to if there had been a lorry or bus in the wrong place. So maybe that's giving me more sympathy for the driver. Plus as I said my own ethical compass would make it impossible to land B with the bill if I was A.

If I was B the passenger would never know about the fine. I got stopped once because one of my passengers wasn’t wearing a seatbelt - back in the days with no alerts on the dash or beeping noises. It was clearly their fault but equally I didn’t check so I paid the fine.

this, basically!

While B is of course legally responsible for the fine, people saying B 'chose' to drive through the restricted zone are assuming B did so deliberately or wasn't paying attention - some places are just terribly signposted/make it almost impossible to avoid the restricted area, particularly if you don't know where you're going.

Agree - if I was B I wouldn't tell A about the fine either. It's not A's responsibility to pay someone else's driving fines.
I got caught speeding whilst giving my mum a lift somewhere a few years ago - should I have asked her to contribute towards the fine?

B pays the fine A offers a contribution .

B is responsible. But if I were A I would have offered to pay.
I have been B and A offered to pay but I declined. My fault.

Same thing happened to me I got a fine giving a friend a lift but of course never told her why would anyone do that?

I would usually say driver pays, because they are the person that infringed the restriction. However, I thought that if the passenger is over 14 then the seat belt wearing is their own responsibility? I wouldn't be paying for another adult's idiocy.
The only seat belt resistant child I've ever driven was my own, and he knew that the privilege of a lift would be revoked if basic safety rules weren't followed!

I thought that if the passenger is over 14 then the seat belt wearing is their own responsibility? I wouldn't be paying for another adult's idiocy.

I always thought it was up to the driver to check that passengers are strapped in before setting off.

Driver should pay!

It is the drivers responsibility to pay. You're behind the wheel and it is 100% on you to see the signs, follow the instructions etc.
That said I would if I was the passenger offer half because it only happened because they were giving me a lift. Only half though because it was their responsibility to be aware of their surroundings.

Person driving is responsible.

its driver respoonsibility-if tey went somewere diferent and got a fine but were alone its still teir fault

if i was person A i would’ve offered a contribution to the fine, or offered to pay.

if i was person B i would never dream of asking though, end of the day they were the one driving.

honestly person B asking would make me not want to pay cuz it would annoy me.

There’s no question that the driver pays. They were in charge of the vehicle so up to them to follow road signs and drive accordingly.

I'm really surprised at some of the morr aggressive responses here. As the driver, I'd expect to pay, probably wouldn't mention it, but as the passenger I'd be mortified that giving me a lift, that I was cheeky enough to ask for, had cost them so much and immediately offer to pay.

I really don't think non drivers who rely on lifts and aren't shy about asking for them, have a clue about the costs involved in running a car and yes, those include expensive mistakes we all make occasionally.

I think the thing about this case is that the restrictions can be very tricky. It’s not as though the driver was doing 50 in a 30 limit. What happened was obviously a mistake, with tricky signage and restrictions. The mistake wouldn’t have happened if the other person hadn’t asked for a lift. That’s why I think the person who asked for the lift ought to offer half the fine.

The only thing Driver B can do is not to offer lifts going forward. They are responsible for the vehicle and therefore have to pay the fine.

They cannot make Passenger A pay for a fine on the basis that they were giving a lift.

Having said that, if I were a passenger, I'd offer to pay something towards it.

Person B, they are driving and reading the signs and made the mistake.

@GoldHold

Please do not forget that you must have been notified of the fine within 14 days.

[Schedule 4 Protection of Freedoms Act]. If you were not you can get the fine dropped. I got off £100 with NCP who took 4 months; they operate by bluff!