I traveled with some friends to a party about 200 miles away (farther for me, my friends live halfway there.) On the way back the driver got a speeding ticket. Should I offer to chip in to pay?
Some details:
They would have gone whether I went or not.
I was in no hurry, so they weren’t speeding on my account.
The ticket will not seriously impact their financial situation, they are doing well.
Nor would chipping in seriously impact my financial situation.
They are close friends.
I don’t feel like this was my fault, but want to do what is right.
Mr. Legend once got a speeding ticket while doing a friend the favor of driving him to an airport 60 miles away, and we wouldn’t have dreamed of asking or even allowing him to chip in on it. It is the driver’s responsibility to obey traffic laws, and unless he’s doing something so outrageously dangerous (like driving drunk, for instance) that a passenger has a moral and perhaps legal responsibility to stop him, only the driver can be held responsible for his actions.
I would be mortified if a friend offered to help pay for a ticket that I earned through my own poor judgment.
Unless you were badgering him repeatedly to speed, I don’t see any reason whatsoever to offer to pay. It doesn’t matter if he was driving you as a favor (which he wasn’t); he was the one speeding. (Even if you were badgering him, it’s the driver’s responsibility to drive responsibly and not to follow the unsafe requests of idiotic passengers.)
If he went through a red light would you offer to pay? How about if he had hit someone - would you offer to take half the blame because you were in the passenger seat?