WPI 72.03 Negligence of Driver Not Attributable to Passenger

This instruction is to be used only when the plaintiff is a passenger and the defendant is someone other than the driver of the car.

This instruction should not be used if it is claimed that the plaintiff and the driver were engaged in a joint venture or that the driver was the agent of plaintiff passenger for any other reason. If it is claimed that the plaintiff and the driver were in a joint venture, use WPI 72.04 (Joint Venture). If agency is claimed on some other basis, use the appropriate instructions from WPI Chapter 50 (Agency and Partnership—Torts).

If there is a claim that a plaintiff, as a passenger, was negligent through some conduct of his or her own, that phase of the case should be covered by appropriate instructions relating to the plaintiff's own negligence and this instruction should still be given.

A driver's negligence will not be imputed to a passenger unless there is an agency relationship between them or they are engaged in a joint venture. Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 495 cmt. c (1965), cited with approval, Amrine v. Murray, 28 Wn.App. 650, 658, 626 P.2d 24 (1981).

Although a driver's negligence may not be imputed to a passenger, the contributory negligence of the passenger may still be an issue. In Amrine, the court discussed the circumstances under which a passenger or guest in a vehicle commits acts of contributory negligence. Amrine, 28 Wn.App. at 657–58.

Specific statutes may limit the application of contributory negligence principles when the driver of the vehicle is intoxicated. See RCW 5.40.060 and the Comment to WPI 12.01.01 (Driver's Intoxication—Plaintiff Passenger's Knowledge).