6 Types of Passengers You’ll Meet While Driving (And How to Handle Them)

By Auto Parts Warehouse on January 27, 2017

Needless to say, driving your own car is generally an awesome experience. You can go to places without having to consider bus schedules and you can even sing your heart out while cruising down the highway. The problem starts when you start sharing your ride with your friends and family who can absolutely make or break your day depending on how they behave in your car. We’ve listed 6 common types of passengers and surely be able to identify each of your family members and friends. Let’s start!

The Fast and Furious Fanatic

These are the people who would push you to go beyond the speed limit on a highway at every passenger’s peril. They almost don’t care about the risks–they just want to enjoy the thrill of going at breakneck speeds during downhill drives or sharp curve drifts. How to handle them? Reiterate the speed limit and that safety should always come first. Knowing actual morbid stories of road daredevils may also help quash their adrenaline high.

The Backseat driver A.K.A “Mom/Dad”

Source: CartoonStock.com

Okay, maybe your parents aren’t like that. But a lot of parents who taught their children to drive or who used to drive them around the neighborhood and to school fit the bill. They’ll tell you where to turn, when to accelerate, to change gears–everything. Worse: they will find fault with your driving all throughout the journey. How to handle them? Patience: lots of it. Show them that you are in control and they can relax during the trip.

The Critic

Source: galoremag.com

Remember that one friend who always pick on your car, its interior, even the accessories you decorate your ride with? Yes? Well, he/she falls into this category. Even though your car is the perfect reflection of what and how you want it to be–you’ll always have people who will find something wrong with it according to their taste. How to handle them? Let them know that their opinion is being heard but stay firm with your preferences. Be you and assert yourself!

The Disc Jock

Source: PopKey

They take it as their responsibility to make sure that there’s no dead air while you both are travelling. They are the ones to first check your playlist to see the type of music or songs you have, switching from one radio station to another to search for a good beat (according to their personal standard), or connect their phone to play their favorite songs. While there’s usually nothing wrong with this, there are times where silence is needed to start a good conversation. How to handle them? Make sure to have CDs or USB drives readily available whenever they are around. Give them choices and find a way to introduce your kind of music in case you’re into a different genre.

The Silent Passenger

Source: stereogum

These are the passengers whose presence cannot be felt. They are awake, they just don’t make any sound. Plain and simple. How to handle them? Look for opportunities to start a conversation. If they decline, respect their choices.

The Heavy Sleeper

Source: Pinterest

Regardless whether the road trip is long or short, we always have that one passenger who automatically sleeps as soon as he/she sits in the car. And once they’ve fallen asleep, no honk or noise is too loud to awaken them. What a gift! How to handle them? Well, there may not be much that can be done since they’re asleep the whole time and will still sleep even if you wake them up.

If you feel that there’s another type of passenger that needs to be included on this list, feel free to let us know by commenting on this post. Looking forward to reading your comments and suggestions!

About Auto Parts Warehouse

Auto Parts Warehouse is one of the top online retailers of auto parts and accessories in the United States today, with over 550,000 products in our comprehensive catalog, with a lot of them available at exclusive warehouse prices.