Breadcrumbs

Backseat drivers are more helpful than you think

14 July 2020

Man driving car
Passengers can help reduce a driver's crash risk. Photo by Art Markiv on Unsplash.

Having a passenger in the car can make a trip safer and more enjoyable, compared to driving alone, according to research by University of Waikato psychology professors Samuel Charlton and Nicola Starkey.

"There's this perception out there that passengers can be distracting, nagging and so-forth, but after the age of 24 having a passenger in your car actually decreases the chance you're going to have a crash," said Professor Charlton.

For young drivers (under the age of 25), having one or more same-age passengers increases the risk of a crash. Professors Charlton and Starkey, members of the University’s Transport Research Group, wanted to know why this difference existed; what were the older drivers and passengers doing that the young ones were not?

Previous research mainly focused on the possible distraction passengers cause, rather than their protective influence. In this ground-breaking study, the researchers asked Kiwi drivers about the helpful things their passengers did, and the things they wish passengers would do more.

In addition to being good company, these included handing the driver food or beverages, answering their mobile phone for them, and looking after children or other passengers. A helpful co-driver involved in the trip was better than a passive person along for the ride.

As well as surveying drivers, the researchers video recorded drivers and passengers who travel together frequently. They observed that indirect advice could be particularly useful, such as pointing out hazards.

Some drivers wished their passengers would do more to help them. The research provides tips on how to be a good passenger.

Helpful passengers:

  • Point out potential hazards ahead that the driver may not have seen
  • Check on the state of the driver and that they are not too tired or impaired to drive
  • Help with non-driving tasks like music, air-conditioning, food and drinks or dealing with children
  • Give directions in good time
  • Chat, but not when the driver needs extra focus on the road or about topics that annoy the driver.

Unhelpful passengers:

  • Comment on the driver’s driving style, or another road user’s behaviour
  • Focus on things that the driver can’t change, like if they are running late
  • Give directions late, which can be stressful for drivers
  • Make unexpected loud sounds that surprise the driver (including mobile phone conversations)

“Having a conversation about what the driver expects and finds helpful is really important, before the journey begins,” said Professor Charlton. “And universally, people don’t like having their driving commented on.”

The research was funded by the Automobile Association Research Foundation.


Latest stories

Related stories

Wairehu Grant at the University of Waikato after his music trip to Wales.

Māori Punk to Wales: strengthening international connections

A University of Waikato PhD researcher is sharing Māori punk with the world, and strengthening…

Catherine Chidgey Ockham Awards 2023

Chidgey axes the competition at The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards…again

Catherine Chidgey has been named winner of the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction for…

Exploring and embracing diversity

Research at the University of Waikato is helping to underpin policy development and decisions designed…

Sargeson Prize winner praises prestigious award ahead of 2023 entries opening

Entries for the 2023 Sargeson Prize open on April 1, and last year's winner, Leeanne…

Bouncing unborn baby research between time zones secret to success

Bouncing work back and forth between time zones has allowed research into fetal development to…

A group of people stand outside the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts at the 50th anniversary celebrations for the School of Psychology postgraduate clinical and behavioural psychology diplomas.

Saving lives: Psychology programmes celebrate 50 years

More than 85 people gathered to celebrate the University of Waikato’s School of Psychology on…

Waikato alumnus awarded prestigious University Medal.

The University of Waikato has awarded its prestigious University of Waikato Medal to alumnus Rob…

Award-winning soprano and Waikato alumna is branching out into the world

With one of her recent achievements on home soil having been the runner up at…

Dr Tracey Slaughter is a senior lecturer at the University of Waikato

Feeling the burn: poetry for our times

Award-winning poet and University of Waikato senior lecturer Dr Tracey Slaughter has spent the last…

Should Artificial Intelligence make us reconceive what it means to be human?

Generative AIs are producing journalism, writing poems, and telling jokes. Sure, the op-eds, poetry, and…

Scholarship recipient

Ashleigh Ngow receives Dr Andrew Smith Medal for Academic Excellence

Protecting the environment has always been important to Maketū-raised Ashleigh Ngow who completed the Bachelor…

Anthony Byrt

Anthony Byrt appointed University of Waikato’s 2023 Writer In Residence

The art critic and writer will spend the next 12 months working on three major…