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There have been many articles on how to be a good driver, a cautious driver etc... but ever considered what the role of a front-seat copassenger is. No, his/her role is not to just sit, buckle up, chit-chat and snack away. The front passenger plays an important role in ensuring the safety of everyone in the vehicle. We have earlier on talked about how to be better drivers. But what about being a good passenger? Gesture you make or even word you say may help or distract the driver.
It won’t hurt if you help the driver by being the eyes and ears when the driver is pulling out onto a highway or making a turn. Turn your head and lean back if the driver’s trying to see if anything's on the right, or look for yourself and inform the driver. Don’t make the driver ask you to put your seatbelt on.
Keep it quiet, chatterbox!
Just because you are not driving does not mean that as a front passenger you can be yapping away. Everyone loves to hear gossip and the driver is also a mere human being who will be too busy trying to hear each and every word of the juicy gossip rather than concentrating on the road. It’s also hard for the driver to ignore your conversation as he can't walk away from it or plug his ears. Try to keep your voice down and keep it brief, or stay off the phone altogether.
When you yell or start telling the driver how to drive, you’re actually helping the driver hit something. You need your wits around you to get through an emergency situation, and yelling, gasping or exclaiming is a huge distraction that pulls the driver away from concentrating.
When there are people in the vehicle, it slows down, drifts into other lanes and passengers can take the driver’s attention away from the road. The more people in the car, the more everyone has to take care of the driver, which will mean lowering your voices, keeping the music at a reasonable level, and being aware of what’s going on outside the your vehicle.
The golden rule is that the front passenger should not doze off as this makes the driver feel sleepy as well. If you are very tired then go to the back seat and rest some.
