P&L Does passenger have 'driving' responsibilities?

NewPostieUK · Post by **NewPostieUK** » 02 Jan 2017, 19:14

Not my office, but I'm curious.

A van share pair were on the way back after a delivery. They had an accident. The manager is incandescent with rage apparently, as the passenger can offer no help. He has no idea what happened. Passenger is worried about telling the truth (either had eyes closed or was texting, I forget) as he thinks manager won't take that well.

In my opinion, if managers phone or text us, which they do, then it's OK to use your phone at any time. If he had his eyes closed, that is OK as well. I often close my eyes as a passenger.

So.. as a passenger, do I have a responsibility to watch the road, be aware of whats happening with regards to roads / driving etc, or am I OK to go on being blissfully unaware, staring into space or closing my eyes?

centenaryman · Post by **centenaryman** » 02 Jan 2017, 19:39

does any passenger in any vehicle have a responsibility to watch the road.......no don't think so

the passenger can be txting....reading....sleeping no responsibility to the road.

postslippete · Post by **postslippete** » 02 Jan 2017, 19:45

The pressure is off for a non-driver as they don't drive. Whereas the driver is ultimately responsible for the safety of both themselves and of the passenger.

NewPostieUK · Post by **NewPostieUK** » 02 Jan 2017, 19:59

I'm glad you both agree with me. I can't see the managers point at all. He seems to think the passenger should be watching everything.

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 02 Jan 2017, 21:17

You should inform your manager's that there is nothing more dangerous than someone trying to drive a vehicle from the passenger seat, a driver has to concentrate on driving and not face distractions from someone trying to second guess potential hazards. I made the mistake of letting my passenger decide if the road was clear once, it almost killed both of us.

Post by **bustedflush** » 02 Jan 2017, 21:26

NewPostieUK wrote:I'm glad you both agree with me. I can't see the managers point at all. He seems to think the passenger should be watching everything.

It's Royal Mail not the World Rally Championship! There are NO co-drivers as far as I'm aware. It's the insured driver who is 100% responsible and whether the passenger seat is occupied or not is irrelevant. To question the passenger as to what they saw is reasonable but that's as far as it goes. If they saw nothing, for whatever reason, no foul.

Dorset Plodder · Post by **Dorset Plodder** » 03 Jan 2017, 18:08

I would assume that if the accident was another drivers fault..... My P&L Partner would leap to my Defence.

On the other hand if it was my fault... I'd appreciate him being asleep at the time.

cpsteve · Post by **cpsteve** » 04 Jan 2017, 22:40

In the event of a serious accident where death or serious injury occurred the truth is what you tell turning a blind eye is immoral. To be fair you should act as if the other car was you or a family member driving and if the R/M driver was at fault so be it.

Post by **aiden01** » 04 Jan 2017, 23:02

To be fair op has stated passenger has no idea what happened so if u have,nt seen anything you can,t tell what happened passenger has no duty of care as he is not driving.

NewPostieUK · Post by **NewPostieUK** » 05 Jan 2017, 02:14

The point is, the manager says the passenger should have been paying attention, he can't understand why he didn't see anything. Passenger saw nothing, no idea what happened.

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 05 Jan 2017, 04:08

NewPostieUK wrote:The point is, the manager says the passenger should have been paying attention, he can't understand why he didn't see anything. Passenger saw nothing, no idea what happened.

ehhh so what ? let the manager have a go at trying to take any conduct because of this lol

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 05 Jan 2017, 16:52

Postie45 wrote:
NewPostieUK wrote:The point is, the manager says the passenger should have been paying attention, he can't understand why he didn't see anything. Passenger saw nothing, no idea what happened.
ehhh so what ? let the manager have a go at trying to take any conduct because of this lol

The Judge at an ET

Even based on a reasonable belief defence by RM, that the passenger is lying or being less than candid with the full truth, I don't think it would work because there are enough work related tasks the passenger could be doing that would make it impossible for them to observe the driver and the road.

cpsteve · Post by **cpsteve** » 05 Jan 2017, 17:44

postslippete wrote:The pressure is off for a non-driver as they don't drive. Whereas the driver is ultimately responsible for the safety of both themselves and of the passenger.

No its the passengers responsibility to belt up but I do ask my passengers to do so. With a bit of luck the new tracking devices will stop dangerous drivers before they harm anybody.

A2B · Post by **A2B** » 05 Jan 2017, 19:25

cpsteve wrote:
postslippete wrote:The pressure is off for a non-driver as they don't drive. Whereas the driver is ultimately responsible for the safety of both themselves and of the passenger.
No its the passengers responsibility to belt up but I do ask my passengers to do so. With a bit of luck the new tracking devices will stop dangerous drivers before they harm anybody.

Isn't the driver required to make sure that every passenger is wearing their seatbelt correctly and any fine for not doing so is issued to the driver?

kingeric · Post by **kingeric** » 05 Jan 2017, 20:43

A2B wrote:
cpsteve wrote:
postslippete wrote:The pressure is off for a non-driver as they don't drive. Whereas the driver is ultimately responsible for the safety of both themselves and of the passenger.
No its the passengers responsibility to belt up but I do ask my passengers to do so. With a bit of luck the new tracking devices will stop dangerous drivers before they harm anybody.
Isn't the driver required to make sure that every passenger is wearing their seatbelt correctly and any fine for not doing so is issued to the driver?

Nope. Once you hit 14 years of age the law says that you're responsible for wearing your own seat belt. Nothing to do with the driver.