I have been driving for more than a decade and covered over 100,000 kms in many parts of India. In this small experience i have came across many varied co-passengers. I do believe they do play a major role in driving. Let me share my own experiences. There are good co-passengers, bad co passengers and very bad co-passengers.
Lets me start with the good Co-passengers-
1) In case of a maneuver in a narrow space they will help you out by seeing the space left in his side or he will help you while reversing in a tight space.
2) They talk less so you can concentrate on driving.
3) If you miss something they will politely point you out what you missed.
4) In case of a break down or an accident or any sort of emergencies they will help you.
5) However tired they may be, they wont sleep while you drive.
6) They will always keep the music volume in a decent level so it wont disturb you will driving.
7) If i over speed he will warn me to calm down and drive safe.
If a co-passenger has all the above positives then you can trust him eyes closed to go for a drive any time and any where.
Now let me talk about the bad and real bad co-passengers or co driver-Its best to avoid such kind of a person. In case of an accident they do play a major role.
1)
The one who thinks himself to be the best driver- They will constantly interfere you while you drive. Like they will say- there's a gap in left move from there or go right , go left, overtake the car, slow down, go fast bla bla bla. Generally the person who himself know how to drive and thinks himself to be one of the best driver is this kind of a co passenger. In one word i feel them disturbing and distracting.
Eg- i was going through an intersection and i saw a Sumo coming. I decided to accelerate and move out before the Sumo comes. I accelerate and suddenly my co passenger shouts 'brake brake brake' at least for a second i leave my foot off the accelerator pedal and then i again re judge the situation and comes out of it. In this fast decision 1 sec delay can be disastrous due to these kind of co passengers. I was lucky i got back my composure and avoided the accident.
Remedy- I ask them to shut up and seat quietly while i drive or send them to the rear seat.
2)
The influential guy- They wont wear a seat belt. They will ask you to jump the red signal. For not wearing the seat belts or jumping the signal they will give weird reasons! I have hard reasons like 'if the police catches i have high contacts, you don't worry!!!'
What will you do with the contacts if you die in a crash???
Remedy- Ignore them and ask them to seat quietly.
3)
The over enthusiast co passengers- The most common among young guys. Suppose am cursing at 100 on the highway and a car overtakes me! His immediate reaction will be increase the speed and get past him! I understand he is immature enough to differentiate between common roads and a race tracks but i have seen this inspiring many drivers.
Remedy- Explain him the risk involved. He is unaware of the road safety.
4)
The IT geek or the DJ- Constantly they will keep on fiddling with the music player, or the AC setting knobs or other gadgets you have in your cars dashboard. It simply irritates me and distracts while driving. I never use the knobs of the head unit of the music system i always use the remote. But have seen co passengers merrily using the knobs of the head unit in a care free manner!
Remedy- Ask them politely not to touch anything on the dashboard. If he needs some thing he should do it with proper care without constantly fiddling with it. Set your favorite music and continue with it.
5)
The smokers and the alcoholics - If some one smokes inside my car it really gets me irritated. Be it my co- driver or rear seat passenger. So smoking is a big no inside my car. Once my friends planned to have a drink in the rear seat of my car while on the highways and i objected it. The result was i lost few friends. But do i really need those kind of friends? The answer is a big NO.
Remedy- Warn them once if they do not listed they might find a different mode of transport.
6)
The party guy- These are the guys who think the cars to be a mini disco and plays the music real loud. This definitely distracts the driver. At least i feel distracted.
Remedy- Simply ask him to lower the volume or you deny from driving.
7)
The distracting guy- The most dangerous co-passenger. While you drive at good speeds they will try to show you other things in the surroundings which are useless things like a hoarding or another modded car etc etc. This distraction can cause severe accidents.
Remedy- What ever any one may say never take your eyes off the road.
8)
The sleep happy guy- In case of a night drive i have seen a guy who got into my car adjusted the seat to his comfort and slept! Slept for the whole night and got up in the morning as if he traveled in a sleeper class Volvo or a train.
Remedy- Keep him awake.
9)
The mean guy- In case of an emergency or an accident or a break down they are of no help. They will simply keep quiet or keep on texting on his cell phone.
Remedy- Once you understand there nature dont take him in your car for the second time.
10)
The pizza delivery boy!- They will be always in a hurry and always tell you to speed up.
Remedy- Ask them to get into a different mode of transport if he feel your speed to be low.
Accidents occur due to a drivers fault. But many times these happen due to a bad co- passenger. But after the accident no one blames the co-passenger all the blame will be on the driver. So if all the responsibility is on the driver its best not to interfere unless he is doing something wrong.
These are few points i can think as of now. I will request others to add up more valid points so we can be safe from these bad co-passengers.
Moderators- Please merge the thread if a similar kind of thread exist. I could find one but that was mainly on how we should be a reasonable co passenger.