5 Types Of Car Passengers You Don't Want To Be

When you're driving your car, it's important to keep your eye on the road and your wits about you. If you're on your own, that shouldn't be too difficult. But if you're carrying passengers as part of a carpool or otherwise, it can be a whole different ball game. Some passengers are no trouble at all, but others can make it feel as though you're never going to reach your destination. Here are five types of passenger you don't want to be.

1. The backseat driver

If you're driving the car, it should hopefully be assumed you've had lessons and passed your test. Why is it then that some people feel indebted to keep giving you directions and guidance? Tips on how to brake more effectively, get better gas mileage and handle corners may be well-intentioned, but they'll wear thin pretty quickly. Worse still, if you're this kind of passenger, your helpful advice is likely to get carried away, leading to tips that blatantly aren't needed. After all, if you have to tell somebody to 'watch out for that truck," why don't you just drive yourself?

2. The neurotic

Sadly, thousands of people are injured on the roads every year, thanks in no small part to carelessness, speeding, and overconfident driving. At the other end of the spectrum, you may have been unfortunate enough to end up driving with the neurotic, who seems capable of seeing the absolute worst-case scenario in everything. He or she will be nervous at night, frightened when it rains, and petrified if there's a lightning storm. The best thing to do is pull over, or you'll probably end up in the nearest ditch the next time he or she shrieks with fear and grabs the steering wheel.

3. The flirt

It pays to make sure that you check out the intentions of all of your passengers before you hit the road. You might just be doing your coworker a favor by offering him a ride home, but he could be reading more into things and that could lead to a whole lot of trouble. Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

4. The greedy-guts

Some people just never stop eating, and if they're doing it in your car, chances are you'll be the one that regrets. Sticky, smelly, salty foods will be sure to permeate the entire cabin of your car, and you'll be using air freshener for weeks to shift the odors. Worse still, no matter how well you look after the inside of your car, greedy-guts is still likely to drop crumbs and mess all over the upholstery, and you can bet your bottom dollar she won't be lining up to pay for a valet.

5. The rocker

There's a simple rule-of-thumb when it comes to driving. Whoever is behind the wheel gets to choose the ambience during the journey. That means that if he or she wants peace and quiet, that's what happens. If it's opera music, so be it. The rocker will ignore this, and will either keep changing the radio station or will bring out his own thrash metal CDs to torture your ear drums. Just when you think things can't get any worse, he'll also pull out his invisible air guitar, and it's all downhill from there.

Have no hesitations about kicking these characters out of your traveling party if possible - it'll be better for everyone. And if you ever catch yourself starting to act this way...start looking into bus passes.