Driving is stressful enough without a disruptive backseat driver. If you find yourself behind the wheel having to navigate traffic with a rude backseat driver, consider the following methods to defuse the situation.
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Don’t grin and bear it. If your backseat driver has zero qualms about criticizing your driving, you should be brave enough to speak your mind, too. Just be calm and polite. An argument will just escalate the situation and put everyone on the road at risk.
“If they understand just how off-putting backseat driving is, it might inspire your own backseat driver to try and curb the behavior,” suggests Inc.com writer and co-author of The Geek Gap Minda Zetlin.
Sometimes, backseat drivers just don’t understand the impact of their words. They don’t realize that backseat drivers can increase the chance of an accident.
“If a backseat driver’s goal is to get where they’re going safely, they’re likelier to achieve that by keeping quiet unless they see something genuinely life-threatening that the driver does not,” Zetlin writes.
Distractions like music, videos, or games are employed by parents who want to occupy their kids on road trips. Even if your backseat driver is an adult, you can implement distractions to help keep their focus away from your driving.
“Audiobooks or podcasts can be a great choice because they force both of you to be quiet or you’ll miss important information,” Zetlin notes.
If your backseat driver prefers music over an audiobook or podcast, let the music play. And, to help keep the peace, let it be their choice.
Having your route or trip completely planned out may help dissuade any input from your backseat driver, adds Zetlin. If you’ve worked out where you’re going and exactly how you’ll get there, your backseat driver may have less to criticize.
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Implement these suggestions to help make driving with a backseat driver less stressful for everyone.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.
