Would you ride with an unlicensed driver?

In My Humble Opinion
1

One of our best friends lost her license a couple of decades ago after a traffic violation/conviction, and she never took steps to get it back. Yet she still drives. That kinda bothers me, but, my wife and I aren’t about to end our relationship over that.

But it gets a little trickier when she and my wife are going somewhere, and the friend wants to drive. I’m not entirely sure what I would do in that situation. I THINK I would say I wanted to drive, but I’m not sure. My wife can certainly make her own decision. I believe today she went somewhere with the friend and the friend drove.

Just wondering how you would feel/act in such a situation.

2

Not. In. A. Million. Years.

No driver’s license means no insurance.

3

Good point.

4

Sure. I’m already covered with my own insurance.

That said, it’s hard for me to imagine any of my friends not having a driver’s license.

5

So one of your best friends is an irresponsible moron with delusions of entitlement? Or how do you account for her decision to drive without a license?

She could ride with me (if absolutely necessary) but there is no way I would ride with her. Possible exception – medical emergency where minutes count and the ambulance would be too late.

6

Never is a big word, but I don’t think I would ride with an unlicensed driver in most situations. A lot would depend on why the license was suspended in the first place. Paperwork/inspection or minor violations that piled up would be different from suspension caused by DUI.

Note: Former EMS here, I’m totally unforgiving of DUIs, probably more than most would be.

7

Yeah - in this instance, pretty much. But neither my wife or I, nor any of our friends, are entirely without flaws.

And no, it was not a DUI.

8

This sounds like you won’t draw a line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior because “none of us is perfect.”

Interestingly, this is not a universal truth. She might actually have effective car insurance. If she does, that reduces my animus considerably.

9

What kind of premiums is an unlicensed driver looking at?

10

She’s fraudulently driving! Gotta be a better reason than she can’t be bothered.

The other party that her wheels are registered to is taking a risk Id say. Or don’t you have to have a license to register and insure a vehicle in the state of Illinois

11

In my jurisdiction, the insurance goes with the car but would be void if you are committing an illegal act which includes driving without a licence.

12

Don’t be so sure about that. This was just on NPR today.

Not exactly the same situation as the OP, but there was this:

…the family does have good health insurance. But, when injuries are the result of accidents, another insurer, such as auto or home, may be primarily responsible for the medical bills. Health insurance, if it’s on the hook at all, may kick in after the other insurer pays.

I’m not sure what happens in the event that the driver is uninsured. But I’ve heard of plenty of other cases where an insurance company tries to pass the buck if they decide someone else is responsible for their client’s injuries, so it would not surprise me at all if they tried to sue the driver in that case.

13

No way. No license means judgement is suspect. I am never in that much of a hurry.

Doesn’t mean we cannot be friends, but I am no letting them drive me anywhere.

14

Don’t know what state you’re in, but in my state, you can’t lose your license for a non-DUI violation. You need to rack up about 6 within a 3 year period, (fewer if the violation is reckless driving, but even then, you’d still need 3), which in my book is a pretty unsafe driver. So, around here, absolutely not, unless it was an emergency.

Plus it’s a great way to get stranded. No licensed driver, cops will impound the car on the spot.

15

Nope, not riding with an unlicensed driver. I broke up with a girlfriend because she let her unlicensed/uninsured son (he had multiple DUIs) borrow her car. Her reasoning was “But he needs get to work!” My response:“If he gets in an accident and kills someone, it’s on you.” A huge argument ensued and that was it for us.

16

I would not, if for no other reason than if an unlicensed driver does something stupid or gets pulled over they might have sufficient incentive to, say, run after an accident or try to run from the cops and I have enough drama in my life without some bullshit like that. Plus, my list of people I’ll ride shotgun with is very short and someone who I know can’t maintain their license or insurance would not be on that list. Ever. They can ride with me driving or we’ll take separate cars.

17

So - you’re saying that if you learn a friend drives w/o a valid license, you will end the friendship over that alone?

I haven’t asked too terribly many questions, but if I understood correctly, she pulled around a school bus that was parked with no passengers and no lights on/sign out. A cop was right there and gave her a ticket. I’m not sure if she surrendered her license to the cop and never got it back, or if it expired and she never tried to renew it. It is possible she never paid the fine. For all I know, she may have a warrant against her.

I’m pretty confident that she was extremely irresponsible in however she lost her license, and in continuing to drive without a license. But I’m friends with folk who are a lot worse human beings than her. Heck, I even have a good friend who voted for Trump! :astonished:

18

Answering the question first - No, for many of the reasons listed: lack of insurance, major issues (impoundment, arrest) if pulled over, and thus reasons to take unsafe actions if there is an attempt to pull over.

Not passing judgement on the other person, or on you Dinsdale, but if this were one of my best friends, and they were driving frequently (which seems to be the case), I would be prodding them to take the steps to get their license back.

It could be they were required to take a class after the non-licensed period, or they’re afraid of the insurance premiums, but neither of those should be insurmountable.

(while most carriers only go back 3/5 years, not having had a valid license for a minimum of 12 months can result in much higher premiums depending on the carrier, equivalent to having a Careless Driving Ticket for some carriers).

Still, I wouldn’t end the friendship over this, but I would not, and strongly encourage my spouse not to ride as a passenger in the vehicle until the situation is resolved. You can go at it jokingly, seriously, or however it is most effective for your friend, but be the friend and suggest they stop putting themselves and others at risk.

Because if your friend gets in even a semi-minor fenderbender, something even just 50/50 fault, and needs to pay for all her repairs and say $10k in damages to the other person, can they easily afford it without blinking? If not, perhaps it’s time for them to reconsider.

And we’re leaving out the slightly more out there scenario where they get in an accident with you as a passenger, and you accidently admit that you knew they were driving in violation of the law and some cop or lawyer tries to make you liable in some way.

It was from a DUI incident (and it’s an ambulance chaser website), but it’s not totally out there -

19

That’s a big nope from me. I don’t need more drama in my life, and having an unlicensed driver get pulled over with me in the car is drama I don’t need.

20

Depends…Is the unlicensed driver 12 or 40? The 40 year old who had 20+ years of driving experience I would probably take a chance. The 12 year old with no driving experience, definitely not.