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The Dilemma
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Ticket Tussle
I was running late for a dental appointment. I was going to bike there, which would have made me even later. But my roommate offered to give me a ride. (I didn’t ask.) On the way, she got a speeding ticket. She presented it to me as if it were my responsibility to pay. I think that’s absurd! I didn’t speed. Thoughts? —S.J.
It’s true that the choice to speed was your roommate’s. And as a general matter, the person behind the wheel is responsible for driving mishaps. But surely you also see that, were it not for you, your roommate would not have been driving the car that fateful day. This argues for picking up the ticket as a gesture of thanks or making your roommate a counteroffer to split the fine. Does that sound less absurd?
—Adapted from “Social Q’s” in The New York Times Magazine