If You Do 3 or More of These Things, You’re a Backseat Driver


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A while back, we posed a question on Facebook, asking commenters to name the worst backseat drivers that they know. And, wow, did this get some responses.

Hopefully, this didn't end any friendships or make things awkward at family reunions. In all seriousness though, many of the comments here were surprisingly honest, with a good chunk of commenters even coming clean as notorious backseat drivers themselves.

But, what exactly defines a backseat driver? Conveniently enough, there was a study done back in June 2018 that laid out the 20 signs of a backseat driver. Are you guilty of any of these things?

Per Fox News:

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1. Criticizing the driver's decisions behind the wheel
2. Complaining about the driver going too fast
3. Gasping loudly at any slight braking movement
4. Flinching when they feel the driver is too close to another vehicle/obstacle/wall etc
5. Complaining about the driver going too slow
6. Pointing out when to turn off or onto a road at a junction
7. Pressing an imaginary brake pedal
8. Advising on which lane the driver should be in
9. Telling the driver when the traffic lights have changed to green
10. Insisting on giving directions
11. Interfering with the music
12. Swearing at other cars' drivers
13. Gesticulating at other road users
14. Getting road rage on the driver's behalf and swearing at other drivers
15. Waving 'thanks' at other drivers for letting you out
16. Reading out the road signs as they pass
17. Changing the in-car temperature
18. Holding your hands over your face
19. Closing your eyes frequently when someone else is driving
20. Disagreeing with SatNav

Did any of the above signs ring any bells on a personal level? Catch yourself doing any of these things on a regular basis? Of course, this is by no means a scientific calculation, but if you do three or more of these things, then odds are that you're a backseat driver. Sorry to break it to you.

Ok, so let's say that you are a backseat driver after all. So what? Is it really that bad? Well, it turns out that seven out of 10 of the 2,000 motorists surveyed in the OnePoll.com study basically said that there is nothing more annoying than a backseat driving. So it's bad enough.

But hey, it's not too late to change your ways. Acceptance is the first step. Or, if you find yourself too set in your backseat driving ways, you can always call shotgun next time. At least then you won't technically be "backseat" driving.

This post was originally published on July 10, 2018.

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