By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer
EMPHASIS is too often placed on the person behind the wheel. Drivers are labeled good or bad, judged in the most extreme cases, by those who would just lounge and enjoy the ride. Behind the backs of the drivers who just took them to their destination, passengers whisper about nauseating pedal work, terrible lane choice and near misses.
Passengers should understand that by agreeing to ride with someone, a meeting of the minds takes place. When people get into a car, a social contract is mutely agreed upon. Someone is going to get behind the wheel and drive, while others pile into the free seats and just go along for the ride. Even in cases where the relationship of driver and driven is strictly professional, the car’s owner may have strategic control of the automobile but the how and when is under full control of the driver.
That said the behavior of those along for the ride is a gray area at best. In the worst of situations, this is seen as a free pass to act in whichever way they want. The light jokes about back seat driving, or passengers who think that an automobile can be operated by voice command, cease to become funny when it happens to you. Admit it, ladies and gentlemen, how many times have you wished for an ejection seat function in your car, just so you can lose the noisiest and pushiest of your cargo.
A person with good passenger skills though is almost as important as a driver with ability. Mastering a few basic principles is all that is needed to pass as a skilled passenger.
On the top of the list is recognizing which of the car’s controls one has the permission to operate. In simplest terms, draw a line right down the middle of the car’s interior, from the middle of the front wind screen all the way to the rear of the vehicle. This line represents a car’s 38th Parallel, a line that should never get crossed.
Ask permission even when trying to operate the air conditioning or the radio, as these two systems often fall right in the vicinity of the DMZ. Incursions will be met with reprisal, not to mention that attempting to drive the vehicle from the passenger seat can lead to disastrous outcomes.
Also once seated and belted in, passengers should avoid distracting the driver. Engaging the driver in conversation is fine, but recognizing that they are concentrating on avoiding collision with the hundred other drivers trying to squeeze a path through our nation’s choked road network is critical.
If spoken to, respond in clear and concise statements. Yes and no are the preferred answers with longer answers preferably in short three word sentences like, “Let’s go home,” or “Turn left/right here,” and the ever-popular, “Drivers are cool.”
Never make fun of the driver when he gets lost. It is in fact the passenger’s fault, more often than not, why drivers get lost. Already saddled with the responsibility of getting you quickly and safely to wherever you are headed, how can it be fair that the driver know the route like the back of his hand?
Give suggestions and lay down hints that you think he’s lost, but never directly state that in black and white. Wait for the driver to admit that he does not know where he is anymore and only then intervene. Offer to ask the next pedestrian for directions. Ask if the driver would like a back rub. Soothe the driver’s ego.
Skilled passengers are a commodity these days. More and more, those just along for the ride want to have more to do with the drive. The solution is simple really. Rather than make life unbearable for the poor soul behind the wheel who has to deal with the snide comments and the traffic, passengers should get behind the wheel themselves. Driving will be a sure cure for even the worst back seat hecklers. Those of us who drive can then get even.
