Pacifying Paranoid Passengers

            What makes a good driver? Snazzy gloves? The ability to drift around a turn at 50 mph? Someone who can beat everyone else off the line at a traffic light? The loudest exhaust and/or stereo system? All these qualities and more may or may not indicate a good driver. The true test of a vehicle-operating guru is his or her ability to keep the other passengers in the car calm and quiet.

            No one likes a backseat driver. There are two types of backseat drivers: those who are just plain annoying and those who are truly concerned about their safety or don’t want to get lost. The first type can’t be helped; these are your little brothers, teenagers in general, and friends that you will never take on a road trip again. The second type of backseat driver can actually be helpful. Sometimes we are unaware of our driving habits that may make other people nervous, such as cutting closely in front of cars or always braking too quickly.

            I recently went on a mountain drive with a friend. The late summer air in the mountains was so cool and inviting. As we drove toward Midway Reservoir, she turned to me and said, “I like how you drive. I’m not paranoid that you’re going to drive off a cliff or anything like that.” I asked, “Are you normally concerned that the person driving will just fly off a cliff?” She responded, “No, but I can tell that you are in control of the vehicle and that you’re not going to let it get out of control.” That made me feel good, because that is how I try to drive – in control. Later, as we drove back down the canyon, though, I swerved to avoid a hole in the road. I was only going 25-30 mph and felt in complete control of the car, but my passenger gasped and said, “I didn’t like that at all.” I apologized, promptly slowed down and kept an eye out for unruly road wrinkles.

            There are a lot of accidents that occur because the driver was not in control. Whenever I hear about an accident that could have been prevented, I think about the passengers and what they must have been thinking before the accident happened. Had the driver been exhibiting any odd behavior like swerving for fun? Do they wish they had said something to the driver? Could any of the passengers say, “I told you so,” after the accident occurred, or, “Guess you owe me five bucks… knew you couldn’t do it”?

            Steering wheels and pedals give a driver an odd sense of security and control, but the truth is, cars can be unpredictable. Sometimes the best driver in the world is victim to a pure accident. A tire can blow, a screw can come loose, a light can burn out, or a deer can jump out in front of the vehicle. You can rarely be ready for such occurrences, but you can certainly practice safe driving habits that may reduce the effects. Two hands on a steering wheel during a blow-out is much better than one, or a knee for that matter. A foot that tends to favor the brake rather than the gas could prevent a bloody animal mess. Defensive driving is about expecting the unexpected. And saving yourself the stress of having to listen to unwanted driving advice from the peanut gallery.