This article explores the experiences of Rideshare drivers who encounter passengers assuming the role of back seat drivers during their journeys and how to deal with them properly. Everyone’s heard of driving right? We all either know how to drive or are at least familiar with it right? Some of us went to driving school, while others haven’t. Either way, we all are for the most part familiar with driving and the benefits that come with driving on the road. That being said, we all are also for the most part familiar with the dangers of driving on the road. Or at least some of us are. Others live in a wonderland where common sense, nor Alice exists! Especially when they’re in a hurry to get to nowhere!
Here at #1RideShareDoc, I’m all about sharing my story and my 6 years of personal experiences with you, concerning Rideshare driving and the rideshare driving industry! The good, the bad, the highs and the low’s. I don’t want to allow any of these experiences to go to waste, which is why I created this website. I want everyone to be aware of the large and small stuff that we go through as drivers and passengers.
Especially since Rideshare companies like Uber, Lyft, Via, or Sidecar don’t explain in detail, concerning all sorts of important subjects! So with all that being said, please allow my trials, tribulations and lessons, to become your lessons, blessings and stepping stones to greatness on the road! Allow me to prepare you for what’s ahead of you and for what’s going to be behind you. This short rideshare review will be divided into the following sections, for better absorption and clearer understanding purposes:
Introduction
What Is A Backseat Driver?
What Are Some Examples Of Backseat Driving!
Why do passengers choose to backseat drive?
Why might backseat driving be a good thing?
Why is backseat driving a bad thing?
My professional conclusion for Backseat drivers!
What Is A Backseat Driver?
For the record, I really dislike backseat drivers. But of course I’ll explain why in the following sections. Moving right along, a backseat driver to me is a rider who not only tells you which directions to drive, but also how to drive as well. I also define a backseat driver as a passenger who’s driving from the back seat, without actually being in front of a steering wheel. It’s impossible for a backseat driver to be able to see the road. I think that would sum up my definition of a backseat driver, perfectly!
Oh, and backseat drivers who give out these directions tend to come from people who drive, used to drive or are running late! Some of them don’t drive anymore and it’s for a good reason, believe it or not! And it’s generally not because their car broke down lol. From my experience accidents, health and legal issues are the main reasons why a lot of passengers aren’t driving. And if the passenger was a driver, they aren’t driving anymore now.
With that being said, it could be because of a road rage driving accident, their license has expired, suspended or revoked. Especially if they have too many unpaid tickets and moving violations. But if they’re not driving because of a health issue, it might be a health issue pertaining to poor eyesight, bad concentration skills or a sleeping condition, just to name a few examples. You know, things that involve safety! But either way, the passenger a lot of times can’t drive.
Check out the:
Top 5 reasons why a license driver isn’t allowed to drive anymore!
What are some examples of backseat driving?
There are two types of backseat drivers, in my humble opinion. You have passengers that will literally tell you how to drive, and you have passengers that will simply give you directions on how to get to their drop off destination. There’s a big difference ok! That being said, I’ll give you two examples to explain these two types of backseat drivers:
Scenario #1: Your passenger just got into your vehicle, which prompted you to start the ride on your Rideshare app. You then notice that there’s a lot of traffic coming up on the road, but decided to relax and wait for traffic to move. Safety first right? Next, your backseat driving passenger then proceeds to tell you (out of nowhere!), to move your vehicle to the far left lane, to avoid the cars in front of you. You proceed to do so..
Your backseat driver then tells you after you stopped for a yellow traffic light, that you could have made that green light. Then while approaching the next green traffic light, the passenger then tells you to speed up to make the next four blocks of green traffic lights and their drop off location will be on the left. That being said, I think this example explains clearly what the first type of backseat driver might be like, when it comes to a passenger literally telling you how to drive. I actually really dislike these types of backseat drivers and I will explain why shortly.
Scenario #2: Your passenger just got into your vehicle, which prompted you to start the ride on the Rideshare app. You noticed that there’s a lot of traffic on the road, but again decided to relax and wait for the traffic to move. Again, practicing safety should always come first, as a professional Rideshare driver! Your backseat driver then proceeds to give you directions, to help avoid all the heavy traffic. They give you these directions one at a time and ahead of time for safety purposes. Your rider tells you to make the next right at the light and to keep straight for the next 10 miles.
After driving those 10 miles, the passenger then tells you to make a right, a left, then another right at the light, and keep straight for another 6 blocks. After following all the passengers directions, you finally arrived to their drop off destination. That being said, I think this second example explains clearly what this second type of backseat driver might be like. Especially when it comes to being a good backseat driver. And to be honest, I actually prefer these types of passengers. I’ll explain why in a minute..
Why Do Passengers Choose To Backseat Drive?
When I sit and think about this crazy question, a few answers come to my mind. But out of all of those answers, it’s really only two main reasons why I feel like passengers choose to backseat drive. Or at least for me it is. Starting with the biggest reason why a passenger might choose to be a backseat driver:
The Passenger Is Running Late:
Passengers tend to choose to backseat drive for their drivers, for a big reason. That big reason is them being late or running behind schedule! That being said, the passenger really feels that because they are running late, that they should give the driver directions which could possibly lead to them getting dropped off a little earlier. But in all actuality from my 6 years of experience, the passenger is really only knocking off roughly a few minutes, which means they’re still late for whatever they were trying to make. But this is what I believe is the biggest reason why passengers become backseat drivers!
The Passenger Is A Control Freak/ Has OCD:
The second and last reason passengers choose to backseat drive isn’t common, but still counts as a reason for me. With that being said, passengers who are control freaks or have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), also tend to do a lot of backseat driving. Especially when they’re running late! And you’ll know if your passenger is this type of backseat driver, when your passenger says something to you like, “Your taking the long way”, “I don’t normally drive this way”, or “The GPS is taking us in circles”. These are all famous statements used by passengers who are true backseat drivers!
When passengers say things like this to me before giving me any of their backseat directions, I immediately take it as them being control freaks or having OCD. I say this because why would it matter which way we’re taking, if both ways have the same approximate distance and arrival times. Sometimes the passengers directions will actually make the ride stay the same arrival time and distance or make the ride even longer. In cases like this, it would really lead me to believe that the passenger is just a control freak. This is what I believe is the second biggest reason why passengers become backseat drivers. Another reason could be because they simply miss driving. But I’ll let you be the judge lol..
Why Might Back Seat Driving Be A Good Thing?
Backseat driving can actually be a good thing. Now after all the trash talk concerning backseat drivers, I know you’re probably like, WHAT THE HELL lol???? But it depends on the circumstance. That being said, if the driver is only trying to complete a few “quick rides” for gas money and they happened to pick up one of those backseat drivers (the 2nd type I described, not the 1st type lol), I can almost promise you that that backseat driver is going to guarantee that that “quick ride” takes place.
It’ll be a win-win for both the driver and the rider. Especially if the passenger is running late for something lol. In other words, backseat drivers can actually help any Rideshare driver who’s aiming for a certain goal. Especially when it’s pertaining to a bonus or simply aiming to get plenty of short rides. See, there is some good in a passenger being a backseat driving sometimes. Just don’t tell your driver (me to be more specific lol!) specifically how to drive and I think everything will be just fine.
Why Is Backseat Driving A Bad Thing?
Answering this question is going to be easy and straightforward! Or at least that’s the goal here lol. That being said, backseat driving passengers can be very dangerous, when it boils down to the vehicle as a whole and the driver being safe on the road. Anyone can give out instructions, but not everyone can give out proper instructions in a decent, timely fashion. Especially if you’ve never driven before or you’re a non-licensed passenger, which would describe a lot of passengers we pick up! And if the backseat driving passenger is trying to give you instructions on exactly how to drive and when to move or change lanes, you know the driver is going to have a problem. Especially me!
Like I mentioned earlier, we really dislike these types of backseat drivers. This type of backseat driver is actually the most annoying and the most dangerous. Just as dangerous as a road rage driver! Or at least in my book they are! But turning to another page, say you are the kind of backseat driver we actually like, but suck at giving directions or you don’t have a driver’s license, which would be the absolute worst case scenario! Somebody could seriously get injured or worse. Your taking a turn for the worse literally, when that passenger tells you to make a left turn onto that good old one-way street. That turn might be the last left turn you or your passenger might ever make. A real turn for the worse!
Or say if your passenger keeps giving you late instructions, right when you’re approaching doing something completely different. Can you guess what’ll happen next? Getting rear-ended, is what’s going to happen next and the majority of the backseat driving passengers I pick up, fit this type of scenario. So in conclusion, the worst part about a passenger being a real backseat driver, is that they can cause a real driver, real life damages. That is, unless you happen to be a real life driving instructor lol. I would gladly trust a driving instructor, before I trust a real stranger who’s simply a real passenger who’s running really late! Comprende lol?
My Professional Conclusion For Backseat Drivers!
At the end of the day, being a backseat driver could be considered okay as long as the rider provides safe, on time and precise directions. No matter how you choose to look at it, having good communication skills with your Rideshare driver is key. If you don’t have any knowledge pertaining to cars, driving or a driver’s license, you should ban yourself from giving any professional Rideshare driver directions. Save yourself, as well as everyone on the road from an unexpected, senseless, untimely death! Oh, and don’t try to tell your driver how to drive, if you’re not a driving instructor or a licensed driver. It’s really irritating and disrespectful to our profession. Especially when you have almost 34,000 rides!
That sums it up for this review on passengers and back seat driving! If you have any thoughts, comments or concerns, please feel free to leave them at the bottom of this review. Let me know how you truly feel. As far as my Rideshare drivers are concerned, let me know how you deal with these backseat driving passengers. Lord knows I would love to hear that! Maybe you can help me add something new to this review lol.
If you like what you’ve read, please feel free to subscribe to my post. Just be sure to enter a valid email address. Everytime I make a post, you’ll receive a notification. Check your spam folder if you didn’t receive a confirmation email. Anyways thank you so much for reading my short review, and I will see you on my next chapter. Take care of yourselves out there and as always, please drive safe!
If you’re not interested in driving strangers around in the backseat of your car, but interested in having a flexible lifestyle, you could always start a business working from home! If you’re interested, please don’t hesitate to read my review on Wealthy Affiliate. Thank you again for reading..
