Friend got ticket driving my car

[Firebird]

I have a friend who just moved to my area and lately she's been borrowing my car while I'm at work. I just received a ticket for toll evasion (I never go over this particular bridge and no one else has been using my car).

Thankfully, the fine is only $30 - I thought toll evasion was much, much more. Phew.

Anyway, I'll make sure this gets paid on time (by her) but will this affect my insurance? It was sent to me because I'm the registered owner.

[wvugurl26]

I'm sure it depends on the state. Here those types of photo tickets don't affect your insurance or driving record.

[Firebird]

Just got a text confirming it was her. Apparently she didn't have cash for the toll so they said they would mail her a ticket and it came to me instead. That's not the kind of violation I thought it was, which accounts for why the fine is so much lower.

Phew.

[Firebird]

I'm sure it depends on the state. Here those types of photo tickets don't affect your insurance or driving record.

Even my moving violation last year didn't affect my insurance rates, and this one seems much more minor, so I'm hoping not.

I'm kind of annoyed that she didn't even mention it, but the fact that it's such a nominal amount mitigates that somewhat.

[wvugurl26]

It would have been nice of her to mention it. I guess at least she said I don't have the money instead of just driving on through.

My first speeding ticket didn't mess my rates up. The next renewal after that was jacked up $50 more per month. They fall off in Sept and Oct.

[Firebird]

It would have been nice of her to mention it. I guess at least she said I don't have the money instead of just driving on through.

Yes, that's the kind of violation I thought it was and I think that kind of ticket is $300+. I nearly had a heart attack, so I'm mostly just relieved that it's such a small amount.

But yeah, I wish she had mentioned it to me. Oh well.

[8 Bit WWBG]

DW didn't have enough cash for a toll once and had to mail in the payment. I didn't see any substantial rate increase, nor did we ever receive a ticket.

[DVM gone riding]

Mom and I were driving all over FL and ran out of change--we kept hitting these like .25 tolls where you through the money in the basket no gate keeper or anything and you can't like put in a dollar and call it all good. So we had to drive through one! We were told that FL gives a pass on toll drive throughs of about 1/mos

[Firebird]

DH suggested she write a letter to send in with the payment explaining that it was her and not me, just in case. I think that's a good idea. But I'm relieved that it doesn't sound like it will go on my record.

Mostly just relived the fine is not higher. Bullet dodge FTW.

[cael]

My brother got a $200 speeding ticket, driving my car, a few years ago. Only went on his record and to him.. But that was a moving violation. Never affected me to my knowledge!

[Works4me]

Does not go against your driving record and will not impact your insurance. However it sounds quite irresponsible to me and I wonder what would happen if she had an accident in your car that was her fault. Could she cover the deductible? Can you?

Personally I would consider not allowing her to use my car anymore because of this. To me it is irresponsible not to carry cash for tolls and parking when driving a borrowed car in a major metroplolitan area.

ETA - friend of mine just got $100 parking ticket while delivering stuff to his daughter at San Jose State in my vehicle - did not realize parking enforcement zones were different from when we were in college many years ago. Lol and also grrrrrr!

[Deleted]

No bullet dodged if you continue to loan her the car. If you don't know how a ticket would affect you, do you know how an accident or hit and run would affect you? I'd be really irritated that she didn't tell me about it. It also seems odd that they said they'd mail her a ticket - she never told them it wasn't her car.

When you move to WA, make sure you are aware that the car OWNER is responsible for accidents the car has if you loan your car. It does not matter if the driver has insurance or not, it goes to the owner's insurance first. Here you NEVER loan your car.

[justme]

May 18, 2012 19:29:54 GMT -5 DVM gone riding said:

Mom and I were driving all over FL and ran out of change--we kept hitting these like .25 tolls where you through the money in the basket no gate keeper or anything and you can't like put in a dollar and call it all good. So we had to drive through one! We were told that FL gives a pass on toll drive throughs of about 1/mos

It's actually 3 a month. On the 4th time they send a note saying that the next one will be a fine. Or at least that's what I've been told. I kept to the 3/mth limit and never got the note. Though I was bad and ran the $1+ tolls and paid the $0.25 ones. lol

[resolution]

I would be done loaning her my car since she didn't tell me about it as soon as it happened.

[daisylu]

May 19, 2012 11:06:16 GMT -5 resolution said:

I would be done loaning her my car since she didn't tell me about it as soon as it happened.

I would expect a friend who I am helping out to be upfront.

[Deleted]

I would be done loaning her my car since she didn't tell me about it as soon as it happened.

Me too.

ETA: She won't be needing to borrow your car again anyway, right? Because borrowing it once or maybe twice is one thing, but borrowing it regularly means she needs her own car. Right?

[zibazinski]

No kidding, what were you thinking letting anyone borrow your car? The liability is horrendous. My insurance excludes anyone who is not a member of my household. Yours might, too.

[Deleted]

By the way here, when you get a fine for a moving violation, it comes on a form. The front of the form is what you did, where, when, how much you owe and how to pay it.

On the back is a form to fill out if the person who received the fine is not the offender.

Of course that only works if the offender actually fills out the form, and sends it back registered mail, with payment for the fine.

Worked fine with my kids and / or DH when they borrowed my car. Worked fine for DS1 and DS2 when they sometimes borrowed each other's car. The rule in our family is that everybody pays their own fines.

Here it matters because you have 12 points on your driver's license. If you get a moving violation you lose points. So I refused to have my kids' carp or even DH's carp on my license.

It's not a bad system ... All this to say, T-bird, I think your friend should DEFINITELY write a letter. I don't know if it will help, but it certainly can't hurt, and it would show good will.

Frankly, I would be BEYOND FURIOUS with my "friend", and I use that term very loosely.

[Angel!]

Weird. Here they had so many problems collecting money on tolls & dealing with sending out tickets that they went to a system that has no toll booths. If you don't have the express toll pass, they photo your license plate & send you a bill. It costs a little more if they send you a bill, I think $0.20 per toll. That way there is incentive to sign up for the pass.

[Firebird]

Personally I would consider not allowing her to use my car anymore because of this. To me it is irresponsible not to carry cash for tolls and parking when driving a borrowed car in a major metroplolitan area.

Believe me, not loaning her the car again was my first instinct. But once I calmed down, I realized this wasn't a huge deal and could have happened to anyone, including me. The fine is small, she already paid it, it doesn't go on my record, so no harm done.

I made it very clear that she needs to tell me about ANY incident that happens in my car from now on, and she agreed. So I'll give her another chance. I know exactly what it feels like to be in a new city with barely any resources or friends or help, and I do want to help her. This is an easy way to do it.

When you move to WA, make sure you are aware that the car OWNER is responsible for accidents the car has if you loan your car. It does not matter if the driver has insurance or not, it goes to the owner's insurance first. Here you NEVER loan your car.

Good call. I called my insurance agent and asked if I could legally loan her my car before I did it. He said that I could - my insurance covers the car, not the driver. It's obviously not the same for everyone - legally, DH and I are the only people who can drive his car. But on mine, my insurance does cover other drivers.

I would be done loaning her my car since she didn't tell me about it as soon as it happened.

She didn't deliberately not tell me; she just assumed they would mail her the toll fee and she'd send in a check, and then she forgot about it from there. I know that sounds naive, but apparently the toll collector made it sound like they would just mail her a bill for the $5 toll and never said anything about a ticket.

It's not like she was hiding anything from me. This was an honest mistake. Yes, she should have realized that they wouldn't have any way of knowing she wasn't the registered owner but she didn't think about it.

ETA: She won't be needing to borrow your car again anyway, right? Because borrowing it once or maybe twice is one thing, but borrowing it regularly means she needs her own car. Right?

Right, but you have to understand she just moved to town and she's trying to get on her feet. It's a long story (and it's not my story to tell, so I'm not going into details) but she's going through a lot right now. Loaning her car when I'm at work and don't need it anyway was an easy way to help her through a rough patch until she could afford to get her own wheels.

Frankly, I would be BEYOND FURIOUS with my "friend", and I use that term very loosely.

You guys are a tough crowd! This isn't just anyone; she's an old, dear friend. Are you really so hard on all your good friends? I was pissed at first but then I realized that this really could happen to anyone. Was it naive and a little foolish, yes. But it's not like I've never made a dumb mistake before.

I know she felt badly about it, and I know how hard she's been trying lately. So I don't see the harm in giving her the benefit of the doubt, especially now that I've made it very clear she needs to tell me about any incident that might happen right away, no matter how minor.

[Works4me]

Personally, I am very relaxed about loaning vehicles but what would happen if she has an accident? Can she cover your deductible? Will she? Can you afford to?

[hoops902]

I don't get why everyone is so upset. She told the person she didn't have the toll, they decided to let her through anyways and mail her a ticket. She probably assumed they would mail the ticket to her, in which case why would she notify Firebird? She probably thought it had no effect on her since she'd worked on an agreement.

I have a parking pass at work. If I borrowed someone's car, showed up at the garage, talked to the attendant and told them I'd forgotten my pass and they said they'd mail me a bill...it wouldn't occur to me to go tell the person who's car I'd borrowed about it. It wouldn't even occur to me that they'd have anything to do with it, particularly if I gave the person my name and address to send it to.

[Angel!]

May 21, 2012 11:09:23 GMT -5 Firebird said:

[called my insurance agent and asked if I could legally loan her my car before I did it. He said that I could - my insurance covers the car, not the driver.

As long as you are aware of the potential consequences. If it is a claim against your insurance, odds are your insurance will go up. Also if it is her fault, then you still have to cover the deductable (if you even have collision). Plus the stuff insurance doesn't even cover - what happens if she hits a curb so hard she screws up your alignment really bad. Then someone has to cover the repair costs & you might be out a car for a few days.

I generally don't ever let anyone drive me car except in an emergency (or someone I trust to cover the financial consequences of any accidents, like my mom). I have been burned to many times helping someone in a rough patch. If they don't have money to get a car, chances are they don't have money to cover any damage or problems with my car.

You aren't really mad this time because it was only $30 & won't go against your record. Why put yourself in a situation to potentially be really mad next time when it might cost hundreds/thousands & cause your insurance to go up?

[Firebird]

Personally, I am very relaxed about loaning vehicles but what would happen if she has an accident? Can she cover your deductible? Will she? Can you afford to?

This is a very good question and I do plan to call my agent today (I have to ask him something else anyway) to remind myself how high my deductible is and ask her if she could afford to pay that if something happened.

You aren't really mad this time because it was only $30 & won't go against your record. Why put yourself in a situation to potentially be really mad next time when it might cost hundreds/thousands & cause your insurance to go up?

True. I definitely plan to ask her if she can cover my deductible. If not - it's no problem to give her a ride to BART, which is what we did last week when I was putting new tires on my car and it couldn't be driven, so we'll just revert to that.

[Works4me]

Good plan.

Sometimes I fear I am overly pessimistic but it always seems that stuff happens at the worst possible time in the worst possible way when it comes to finances.

[Firebird]

My deductible is $500 - my friend says she can handle that if anything happens. I sent in the check and her letter certifying that she was the one in the car (plus I filled out that back section someone mentioned). So all should be well. I kept a copy for my records, of course.

[wyouser]

Out here the owner of the cars insurance will be the first to pay. If there is an accident the owners policy would take the hit and might go up in premium. If the person is a member of your household and uses the car frequently that person should be listed on your policy. Some policies will exclude undisclosed drivers in your household , so check you policy or ask your agent.

[leanna]

May 21, 2012 11:09:23 GMT -5 Firebird said:

I called my insurance agent and asked if I could legally loan her my car before I did it. He said that I could - my insurance covers the car, not the driver.

The reason many people have come down hard is that there can be very serious legal liabilities arising out of lending someone your vehicle.

One issue you could have, is that, if you're lending this person your car on a regular basis, and she gets into an accident, you could have a major problem. Insurance companies require you to disclose regular drivers of your vehicle.

If she gets into an accident, and the insurance company discovers, for example, that she's been driving the car 3-5 days a week for the prior month, they can decide you've committed insurance fraud by not adding her to your policy. In which case, your policy will be voided and no coverage will apply. That's pretty much worst case scenario.

Best case scenario with an accident caused by someone else driving your vehicle is that the surcharge will stay on your policy for approx 3 years in most state. You may also loose some discounts that you currently have on your policy.

If you're going to have her driving your car on a regular basis, you really should add her to the policy. This way you'll both be protected.

And, I'll tell you one other thing. Insurance Agents who sell policies don't always tell you the correct information. It can be because they don't know or because they want to keep your premium low.

[Firebird]

One issue you could have, is that, if you're lending this person your car on a regular basis, and she gets into an accident, you could have a major problem. Insurance companies require you to disclose regular drivers of your vehicle.

Excellent point. She's driven my car less than ten times, so I always figured that we could make a case for her being an occasional driver. But you're right, that's a heavy risk on my part and it's probably not worth it. I'm not going to add her to my policy unless she can pay the additional premiums.

I'll stop lending her my car and just give her a ride to and from BART when she needs it.

[Works4me]

Good plan Firebird.

Given the fact that you are pregnant and trying to establish financial security for your family, I don't see how you can risk having to come up with $500 for the deductible plus related costs of an accident. It is far easier to have an accident in an unfamiliar area. What if it was totaled and you had to replace it. Also, it is easy to say, yes I can pay it but harder to come up with the money.

I happen to believe in Murphy's law with the addendum: at the worst possible time.