bagatelle

Can you sit comfortably in a car, no matter who's driving it?

I'm very used to my husband driving almost every time, we're in a car together, but especially if we tow the trailer. He can't relax while I'm driving though, I can tell, although I don't consider myself a bad driver.

Kids don't drive yet, and I'm not sure how easy it will be for me to let them drive, when the time comes. My husband always remembers being scared as a kid, when his mother was driving, even now we try to arrange so that his mother would not have to chauffeur our kids.

My attitude in traffic is, that no matter how much I would trust my own driving abilities or how safe I would feel in my car, there is always the chance, that the driver in the car next to me or the one driving towards me, makes mistakes.

Also, I try to remember this: "In traffic, act like you own your car, not the whole road".

filtherton

I'm right there with you.

When it comes to driving, I have an internal set of checklists and contingency tables that tell me exactly what I need to do in most any situation (sort of a personal list of best practices). Regardless of whether I'm driving or not, I default to going through these checklists and contingency tables whenever I'm in a moving car. When I'm a passenger and the person driving doesn't do what I'd do in a particular situation, it stresses me out. I'm sure it's rather annoying if you happen to be the person driving and you notice. Eventually, I usually just stop paying attention to what the driver is doing. Having a smartphone helps. There are only two or three people who I trust driving as much or more than myself.

I too am not looking forward to my kids driving.

I also find it personally useful to recognize that everyone has off days and that the magnitude of other drivers with which we interact on daily basis makes it an all but certainty that we'll have to deal with someone driving under their potential. So it's good to assume the worst about your fellow drivers; defensive driving is crucial, not because other drivers suck, but because no one is perfect, the stakes can be obscenely high and often it is possible to mitigate the effects of someone else's inattentiveness with your own heightened attentiveness.

bagatelle

One factor in traffic to take count of is routines.

I mostly drive to work, it's the same route. I don't leave too early, so if anything happens on the way, that would delay me, I'd be late. Sometimes I find afterwards that I have no clear recollection of my journey to work or home, if there was nothing unusual on the way.

It's a joke, but so true, that often when someone ahead of you is not using their turn signal to alert you of their intentions, we comment "oh yeah, he doesn't need to use the signal, because this is the place, where he always sheers".

Once out of a whim on my way work I tried to follow advice that we should change our routines, take another course to work for example. I was late, of course, because I took a route, that didn't allow turning left, where I thought it would, and ended up taking much longer route...

Fotzlid

I am very rarely a passenger. On those rare occurrences when I am, I get so wrapped up in just looking out the side window and watching the scenery go by that I don't notice how the driver is doing.

Grasshopper Green

It depends on who is driving. My husband has a tendency to freak me out on occasion because he can't drive and not talk, and he sometimes gets too involved in the conversation to pay enough attention for my tastes. Other than that, he is a good driver, mostly because he doesn't lose his head and he stays calm no matter the circumstances. I feel very safe driving with him during snowstorms. He drives most of the time when we go somewhere together. Hubby says my driving scares him sometimes, but I feel like I'm an ok driver. I know I'm not the best on the road, but I'm not the worst and I practice defensive driving at all times - it saved me from being t-boned yesterday, actually.

I ride in the car with my dad fairly regularly, and he is a good driver regardless of the circumstances. My mom is too jumpy for me to feel safe with during inclement weather or in heavy traffic. I refused to ride as a passenger with my mother in law when she was alive, she was the shittiest driver I've ever met and had no business being on the road. I used to carpool with 4 coworkers, and we all cringed when one lady got behind the wheel. You will find a picture of her under the dictionary listing of "road rage".

I am willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to driving. There aren't very many people that make me think twice about riding with them.

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snowy

I am usually the person who drives in our relationship. My husband doesn't like driving, and prefers to avoid it. I also prefer to avoid him driving

I don't like driving with my mom. She has some issues with mild seizures that lead her to be a dangerous driver, so I usually drive out of the two of us. My dad is a good driver. My husband would say my dad is a crazy driver, but he just drives fast. After driving with my dad, my husband said, "Well, you come by your leadfoot honestly." My dad follows the basic rule pretty closely--if the conditions dictate going slower, he goes slower.

It's really difficult for me to be in the passenger seat sometimes, because I am so used to being in the driver's seat, but I try. I usually trust my friends' driving skills.

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flat5

I feel that people here tailgate but in Holland it is not easy to get a driving license and I almost always feel safe enough in someone's car. I never got a license here and have not driven in 28 years but can still parallel park like a champ...when given the opportunity :-)

dlish

i have full confidence in my driving abilities. i have a checklist also (in my head) and i make sure ive got them all ticked off. i dont usually drive with the radio on high volume, and i dont speed either. id say im a good driver on the road.

HOWEVER, i am afraid of other peoples mistakes. i always make contongencies for other peoples mistakes. ive been driving since i was 16, and ive been round long enough to predict other peoples mistakes. Ultimately im afraid that one day someone will make a mistake that i cant avoid.

i know this will ruffle some feathers here, but here i try and stay away from local people on the road because they are absolutely nuts, women and people from the subcontinant.

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Lindy

I try to always drive observantly (if that's a word) and because I hate to fly, I do a lot of long distance driving. I trust myself, and try to always leave myself an out. I pay attention to conditions and traffic more than speed limits. I may drive 85 on a lightly traveled western Interstate 70-80-90 but would never do that on the Mass Pike or I-95. I don't tailgate, or live permanently in the left or middle lane. My dad is an excellent driver, Mom, not so much.
I'd much rather ride with a fast, attentive eyes on the road driver than a slow oblivious one.

Lindy

snowy

He's the one that taught me that driving in traffic is like playing chess--keep your eyes on what's going on around you, and plan your moves ahead.

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TheCrimsonGhost

Ditto

Fremen

I am a very untrustworthy passenger. I always have my foot on the passenger-side brake pedal.

I think it's PTSD from the wreck I had at 12 years old while driving my mom's boat of a stationwagon on a dirt road in the country.

Driving doesn't seem to bother me, though.

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Charlatan

I don't really drive anymore. I don't own a car.

In the past five years, I have only driven while on vacation (once in France, once in Toronto and once in Italy). The rest of the time, I am a passenger.

I am a fairly relaxed passenger unless the driver starts to exhibit signs that I shouldn't trust them (eg driving too fast, passing cars in dangerous situations, not shoulder checking, etc.). Then I get nervous.

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Jove

Yes, I am comfortable being a passenger in another person's car. The only time I was uncomfortable was when I was in a corvette, sitting in the back seat with no seatbelt as they were driving 120mph on the highway. I mentioned to the driver that If we get pulled over that he will not only get a speeding ticket, but a ticket for not using a seat belt. Also, I might have said that I didn't want to be thrown into and out of a windshield if he were to get in a car accident.

GreyWolf

I almost always drive. I cannot relax as a passenger, no matter what. I've been in a couple of minor car accidents in my life (never when I was driving), and never been hurt. Still, I simply can't relax unless I'm in control of the car.

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Willravel

I can be a bit stubborn on certain things, but being driven isn't one of them. So long as people know their responsibilities (driver drives, controls what's on the radio; passenger front navigates, holds food, watches for the fuzz; rear passengers also watch for the fuzz) everything's fine.

ring

I'm rarely a passenger & a bit of a control freak.

Wilhelm

I live in heaven for bad drivers, that means hell for good ones. The spaces between cars is the freeway for motorcycles, cars change lanes without warning, double lane parking is a routine and seeing people roaming on the streets is just as possible as seeing them on the sidewalk sometimes. "Yellow" traffic light means "hurry" other than "caution". So, to make it short, I try to make it ok everyday so I don't get killed or kill anyone by accident. Just terrible. Too bad I don't have a helicopter ...

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Baraka_Guru

I've never owned a car. I've maybe driven one 20 times or so, most of which was with a licensed instructor.

I'm comfortable with others driving, as that's what I'm used to. There are some drivers who made me nervous, but they are few and far between. Puttering around the big city, I often see other cars I'd rather not ride next to, but the driver I'm with principally is an excellent driver and can sense when to move away from others who are questionable in their practice.

---------- Post added at 09:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:12 AM ----------

I'm the opposite. I'm rarely a driver and a bit absent-minded.

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counterpoint

I've made my share of mistakes while driving, but thankfully nothing to the extent of harming myself or others. My ex-girlfriend is one of the most scatterbrained drivers I've ever ridden with. She daydreams, and then hits curbs, turns without yielding to other traffic, and slams on the brakes. It's scary enough for me to refrain from driving with her, unless I drive, now that we're just friends.

amonkie

I am a bit of a control freak sometimes. I am also excellent with maps and navigation, and I am getting better at biting my tongue and holding it when another driver is not, refuses my assistance AND doesn't follow their GPS.

If you drive in Chicago you have to be a much more agressive driver. There is probably only 1 person that I know that if I have an option to ride with someone else, I would. They would probably agree with me too!

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Ourcrazymodern?

When driven, I usually look out the window.

When it seems relevant, I exclaim, "Look at the sky!"

When driving, I don't trust the others. That's safer for all of us.

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thedoc

I mostly trust others driving, if I'm driving or riding, but I don't ride with other people very often for other reasons. When you are driving you need to trust that the other driver is going to do what you expect or you will freeze up and not get anywhere, I rode with a driver like that once. Of course you must be alert for the unexpected as well. as far as riding with others it's mostly me, for one thing I get nausious and the other is habit. When in HS I was riding with a friend and he rolled the car over, after I got home my Dad looked at me and said "From now on when you go somewhere with your friends You Drive." None of my friends ever questioned, from then on, that I was the designated driver. Of course we would tease that one friend about teaching his car to 'roll over and play dead'.