Is it just me, or do many of us find ourselves still behaving like a driver even when we are in the passenger seat?
(That means being a backseat driver!)
When my husband is driving, I routinely check the blind spot when he changes lanes.
If I spot any obstructions ahead, I alert him so that he has ample time to change lanes in order to avoid the road works or accident.
I remind him if he’s in a right-turn only lane even though he is going straight.
When travelling along a road that I am very familiar with, to the extent of knowing when the traffic lights are about to turn amber or red, I caution him so that he can either slow down to stop comfortably when the light changes, or speed up to make it past the light in time.
I warn him if I catch a glimpse of the Traffic Police within our vicinity.
When all the lanes are slow-moving with the exception of the bus lane, I let him know if the bus lane hours are over or still in operation so that he can take or avoid the bus lane accordingly.
Mind you, my behaviour is not a reaction to my husband’s driving abilities or a compensation for his lack of.
In fact, I consider him to be an excellent driver (I would not have married him otherwise).
Sat-nav systems are smart, but they still can’t beat an experienced co-driver.
But, we are creatures of habit and subconsciously, my driving instincts still prevail even when I am a passenger in my husband’s or somebody else’s car.
I have asked if he finds it annoying, but he reassured me that every car should be equipped with such an “Early Warning System”.
I told him it already exists and it is better known as a “co-driver”.
As co-drivers, we should draw the line at telling drivers how they should drive and which route they should take. That would be backseat driving.
However, I think we have all felt this as passengers, especially when you are stuck behind a road hog and wishing that your driver would just overtake already, but he remains nonchalant and patiently follows behind.
Or when the driver takes a longer route that’s also prone to heavy traffic.
In such instances, I hold my tongue after imagining how irritated I would feel if I was driving and my husband or passenger started dictating how I should drive or which route I should take.
As co-drivers, we should concede that whoever takes the wheel is in command.
Even when the person-in-charge decides to relinquish the wheel and take the back seat, like in the case of a chauffeured arrangement.
