11/03/2017

Beware the backseat driver


Who's the Worst Backseat Driver?

Unless you have a strange addiction to being nagged, there are few things more frustrating than having to listen to a backseat driver. But who makes the worst driving micro-manager?

According to a new survey, spouses—whether husbands or wives—top the list, while children are usually the least irritating passengers. That's something both men and women agree on, according to a poll of 500 drivers by Insurance.com.

"My husband is constantly telling me to speed up, to pass, to change lanes, to take another route to the grocery store," grumbled Carrie Willington, a New Jersey receptionist and mother of three. But after a pause, she laughs and admited, "Then again, when he's behind the wheel I'm always telling him to slow down and stop changing lanes all the time."

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Worst backseat drivers are spouses, moms, friends; dads are best, poll says

Who is your worst critic when you are driving? A new poll by Insurance.com says that spouses are the worst, most critical backseat drivers. Moms and friends are next in line.

“Getting there isn’t always half the fun,” said Insurance.com managing editor Michelle Megna. “Micromanagement from the backseat critics can turn a scenic drive into a battle of wills.”

Given the fact that the poll of 500 drivers ages 18 and older, conducted earlier this year, found children to be the least offending passengers, the poll may also be showing something else, too.

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Husbands, Wives Are Worst Backseat Drivers, But Teens Keep Their Mouths Shut

There's nothing quite as wonderful as a backseat driver -- someone who always knows the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B, someone who can sense accidents before they happen, someone who's forever on the lookout for speeding motorists and errant shopping carts.

But perhaps that's just us. Believe it or not, many people find backseat drivers annoying. And to them, the worst offenders can often be the folks they care about most.

Back in February, Insurance.com asked 500 online visitors about their feelings toward backseat drivers. They wanted to know which sorts of people were the most annoying to ride with and what they did to make travel so vexing.

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Back-seat drivers cause one in seven accidents and near misses... but the chances are you're guilty of it too
Back-seat drivers: The bad habit of passengers causes one in seven accidents or near misses on the road

Britain is turning into a nation of 'Hyacinth Bouquet' backseat drivers with one in seven motorists having a road accident or near miss caused by a distraction from a rear passenger, a new study reveals today.

Partners are cited as the worst culprits for back seat comments, but women are revealed as being most likely to get angry at criticism of their driving.

Many drivers - of both sexes - admit they are even reduced to tears by the comments from the back seat.

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NO YOU SHUT UP AND DRIVE
BLOOD IS THICKER THAN MOTOR OIL

I am ashamed of myself. In past columns, I have said many unkind some would say cruel, things about driving with either my husband or my son in the passenger seat. Granted, just because they’re unkind and cruel doesn’t mean they’re not true, but still I feel it was completely unfair of me to single them out for public ridicule.

What I should have done, and what I will do now not because anyone’s asked me but because it’s the right thing to do, is trash the female passenger too. Especially back-seat drivers.

Even before I could drive, I knew that certain ladies were not to be driven under any circumstances. My Incredible Shrinking Nana who never learned to drive, was maybe the worst passenger in the history of passengers. She was banished to the back seat, probably because my father never thought of strapping her to the roof.

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Back-seat driver

A backseat driver is a passenger in a vehicle who is not controlling the vehicle but who excessively comments on the driver's actions and decisions in an attempt to control the vehicle. A backseat driver may be uncomfortable with the skills of the driver, feel out of control since they are not driving the vehicle, or want to tutor the driver while they are at the wheel. Many comment on the speed of the vehicle, or give alternative directions.

Some backseat drivers exhibit this type of behavior simply because they feel the driver is taking risks they would not normally take, while others may have other reasons to be nervous, such as when the driver has a poor driving record. However, the practice is somewhat dangerous and instead more likely to cause crashes, according to the Daily Mail, citing a 'Driver Distraction' study by Esure.

The term is also used allusively for any person who intervenes with advice and instructions in affairs they are not responsible for, or subjects they may not understand well. This is in a manner similar to "armchair professional" terms like armchair general. For example, Barb Palser in the American Journalism Review article comments that "The ascendant blogosphere has rattled the news media with its tough critiques and nonstop scrutiny of their reporting." Similarly, it has been used to describe interference from people in business, such as excessive micromanagement.

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Beware the backseat driver

No one wants a backseat driver, chipping in with helpful instructions, watching the speedometer, pointing out pedestrians and gripping the door handle as you negotiate difficult junctions.

Sir John Major found Margaret Thatcher’s behaviour “intolerable” when he was in Downing Street, despite his predecessor’s insistence that she would be a “very good backseat driver”.

Giving a speech last night, in which he laid out the challenge Theresa May now faces, Major denied that he was indulging in the behaviour he found so difficult from the Iron Lady. “I’d have been very happy if Margaret had given one speech in eight months,” he said.

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SPOOKY SELFIE Girl captures chilling image of ‘ghost child’ in back of her car in ‘warning to wear a seat belt’ at spot where ‘boy died in horror crash’
The ghostly child appears behind Harper while she takes a selfie. Experts believe the little lad, died in a road accident
Mother Melissa Kurtz claims that there was no one else in the car when her daughter Harper took the picture

A GIRL’s chilling selfie in a car appears to show a ‘child ghost’ sitting in the back seat which paranormal experts believe was a warning from beyond the grave.

Melissa Kurtz, 48, was driving her daughter Harper to a beauty pageant when the 13-year-old became bored and started taking snaps of herself.

However the mum-of-two claims she later spotted the ghostly face of a young boy lurking behind Harper  – despite insisting there was one else in the car with them.

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