Who’s at fault here?

Posted by Legal-Champion-3950@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 36 comments

Basically me and a group of us went to chessington zoo.

Just before we left chessington my friend and my sister put McDonald’s into the satnav as the kids were hungry.

Well today my friend (the driver) got a ulez charge £90.

Well she’s saying that us 3 should pay £30 each.

Firstly, I got her free tickets at Chessington which saved her over £60 for her daughter including.

Secondly, I wasn’t even in the car when my sister and friend put the sat nav in. I was sorting my daughter out in my car. I then obviously got back into my friends car and we left.

Who should pay?? My friend is getting mad!!!

As a driver you should check these things out!!

I’m seeing what strangers think about it 🙈

My sister is 19 years old and me and my friend are 29 just baring in mind that I feel like we shouldn’t leave it down to the least experienced driver

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Chessington World of Adventures is INSIDE the ULEZ zone as its a London Borough !

If you live outside it you would have had to pay it anyway to get to the zoo !

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Legal-Champion-3950@reddit (OP)

We live in Hertfordshire- the way we come doesn’t enter ulez. It was because the sat nav route was to McDonald’s into further London that’s the part that she got a charge

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Not sure how it is possible to get from outside M25 north lobdon to.inside M25 south london without entering the ULEZ zone.

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ClockAccomplished381@reddit

Exactly. Chessington WOA is literally inside the ULEZ zone. This whole McDonald's thing and talking about sat navs is completely irrelevant as they would get charged anyway.

To me splitting the charge is fair but I don't know why it is £90, if that's due to late payment then the driver has messed up.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Yes its only 12.50 !

And what the heck are they driving that is not compliant!

I have a 10 year old people carrier that is compliant!

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There's plenty of diesel cars that aren't I think that are like 12-15 years old or whatever. These will be cars with very low road tax due to low co2 emissions, good mpg, probably bought cheap second hand.

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twister-uk@reddit

No, as the other commenter notes, CWoA *is* within the ULEZ boundary, and as I noted elsewhere it's not possible to access their car parks without also crossing into the zone, so unless you parked somewhere outside the zone and walked the last half mile then your friend was risking a PCN regardless of the subsequent additional journey within the zone to the McDonalds.

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summerwine75@reddit

It's the drivers responsibility, although it seems more and more people can't accept personal responsibility any more.

The driver should pay.

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rev-fr-john@reddit

The driver saw the signs informing them of the charging boundary, so the driver knew on the day. It's reasonable for that charge to be split.

There's a few reasons for them to choose not to pay it but the penalty for not paying in time is entirely on the driver.

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StarryKnightLondon@reddit

If the driver got a fine for speeding or parking where they shouldn't, would they want you to pay for their poor driving awareness in those cases?

If I'm driving and it's my screw up I wouldn't expect others to pay. Petrol and toll charges are fair to be split, penalty charges are not IMO.

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screwfusdufusrufus@reddit

Share the cost

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Ludrin@reddit

100% on the driver, if they had been hit by another car would the driver be demanding that you all chip in towards the insurance excess? Should have been more attentive to the ulez restrictions and paid the charge then they wouldn't be crying over the penalty.

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Forever_a_Kumquat@reddit

The driver is fully responsible for where the car goes.

It's on the driver to watch for road signs, including the hundreds of road signs warning you, you are entering the ULEZ.

If they didn't see them, then what the hell else could they miss?

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Adam_Da_Egret@reddit

If it’s the same as the Bristol charge then technically it’s the registered keeper who is responsible for the charge not the driver.

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Forever_a_Kumquat@reddit

I never mentioned who is liable to pay the charge. The driver is the sole person responsible for where the car goes. Not the sat nav, not the passengers, no one but the driver.

If the driver drove into the zone, that's on them, they are in control of the vehicle and made it go into the zone.

Would the driver expect the passengers to pay a speeding fine, or a red light offence? It's no different.

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Adam_Da_Egret@reddit

I don’t disagree

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twister-uk@reddit

No opinion on who ought to be paying here, but just to note that unless Chessington have managed to build a new entrance road recently, then there's no way to access their car parks without crossing into the ULEZ, in which case it wouldn't have mattered whether or not the McDonalds side-trip had occurred.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Exactly what I am trying to say to her elsewhere !

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Available_District_1@reddit

The driver is technically responsible but really it’s £30, is it worth all the hassle and ruining your friendship over? Just pay her and move on.

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WhiteDiamondK@reddit

The driver is responsible.

The Sat Nav would likely have told the driver that you were entering ULEZ. (I know mine does). There’s also plenty of road signs telling you as you go into the ULEZ zone. As this is a fine for not paying ULEZ, the driver was clearly negligent and at fault, it’s not like they are splitting the ULEZ charge 3 ways, it’s a fine for their bad driving/disrespect of rules. If the driver got a speeding ticket that day, would everyone in the car have chipped in to pay the speeding ticket?

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huskydaisy@reddit

I'd be happy to split the ULEZ charge (same as fuel/parking/any other reasonably associated cost of the travel), but not the fine for her failure to pay the ULEZ charge, IMO that's on her.

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Coconutpieplates@reddit

Just split it, you got free tickets but she did all the driving. Your sister was the one who put the destination in so she should share in on this. But if my sister were 19 and I'm 29, I'd pay my sister' share.

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Alert-Performance199@reddit

Do you get it cheaper if you pay in a certain time?

If it was Google maps or Waze, then it has big alerts that come up saying your route goes into a ulez zone.

Personally I think everyone should split the cost. It's known that the ulez starts in that area, there are signs too. It should be a shared responsibility.

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Adam_Da_Egret@reddit

Why should it be a shared responsibility? It is the driver who knows if their car is compliant, is tasked with looking at the road etc.

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

You all benefitted from the journey, you should split it. You got her tickets, but if she did all the driving then you owe her a little something anyway. Did you contribute to the petrol at least?

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Adam_Da_Egret@reddit

This is not the ULEZ charge, this is the fine for not paying the ULEZ charge in time. Plus OP has already contributed to the trip by paying for the tickets.

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

It sounds like OP got free tickets, if they paid for tickets I agree that changes things.

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Bustin_Rustin_cohle@reddit

Alright bro, here’s the straight-up version, no fluff.

Short answer: your mate is legally responsible for the ULEZ charge. She was the driver, so it’s on her to know where she’s going and whether the car’s going into a charge zone. That’s how TfL runs it. Doesn’t matter who typed in McDonald’s or who suggested it—driver’s the one behind the wheel, end of.

ULEZ isn’t like speeding where blame might shift. The law says the driver or registered keeper pays. No court is going to chase you or your sister for that £90. Your friend’s argument that you should all split it because someone else set the sat nav won’t stand up.

Morally though? That’s up to you. If you feel bad or want to keep the peace, maybe offer a tenner. But honestly, you weren’t even in the car when they set the route, and you saved her over £60 on tickets. Feels like she’s forgetting that real quick. Also, your sister’s only 19 and less experienced—expecting her to know ULEZ zones is a bit of a stretch.

Truth is, if you drive in or near London, you’ve got to know where the ULEZ lines are. That’s the driver’s job, not the passenger’s.

So yeah, legally it’s all on your friend. Morally? You’ve already done your bit. If she’s still kicking off, maybe next time let her pay full price at Chessington and drive herself into the ULEZ again.

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