Student Driver. Who is responsible?

Factual Questions
1

I was driving home this morning and saw a car with student driver plaque on top of car. They were going over the speed limit. I was wondering if stopped who gets the ticket.
When I took driving classes the teacher had his own set of brakes. I do not remember if there was another steering wheel. But who is legally in charge of the car?
Thanks in advance.

2

if the student is driving, he/she can be cited against his/her learner’s permit. best cite I could find on a quick search.

the person in the driver’s seat. the passenger brake pedal is more or less an “emergency” feature.

though honestly, if a car with signage like that is being driven with excessive speed, I’d wager the instructor was driving it (either home or back to the school) w/o students in the car. I’ve seen that before.

3

I’d be very surprised if there is any place where the person in the drivers seat would not be liable.

Depending on the offence, I could see a learner being cut some slack. (10kms over the limit? A fingerwagging. Going through a red light? Not so much.)

I’ll second jz78817 and wager that the speeding vehicle had the instructor behind the wheel. IME, the student drivers usually drive 10-15kms below the limit.

4

Contrast the case of a student pilot flying with an instructor: The instructor is legally the PIC – Pilot in Command – and is fully responsible for whatever happens. Note, to be sure, that airplanes are fully dual control, so the instructor has a full set of controls to work with. I don’t think it makes a bit of difference who is sitting in which seat.

(Of course, the student would normally be in the front left seat, with the instructor in the front right seat. Or for a tandem plane, the student would be in the front seat and the instructor in the back seat. In a tandem plane however, like the Citabria for example, it turns out the rear seat doesn’t have entirely the complete set of controls that the front seat has, and not all of the instruments on the instrument panel either. I guess it must take a bit of a leap of faith for an instructor to get in the back seat of a Citabria with a naive student in front, but it’s not really the right plane for a beginner student anyway.)

5

Thanks for the answers.

6

Whomever is in the drivers seat is responsible.

I have ticketed student drivers on numerous occasions at accident scenes where the instructor has had his/her own pedal for brakes. It’s irrelevant.

7

Here (in Denmark) the licensed instructor is legally the driver and will get any blame. He has a full set of pedals and mirrors. He is trained to use the steering wheel at his left.

8

Huh. Consider me surprised.

9

That’s the law of the land in Norway as well, not only for a licensed instructor. The age limit for a driver’s license for a car is 18, you can start practice driving at 16, but only accompanied by a licensed driver with five years driving experience, in a car with an extra rear view mirror and a bold red L on the back.

My mother got a speeding ticket while out practice driving with my youngest brother some 18 years ago. He was driving, but she was legally responsible.

10

Mrs Puff goes to prison every time SpongeBob fouls up, and we all know cartoons have to be legally accurate.

11

I thought you would be :).