In the Passenger’s Seat

I can go on and on about our phones, the radio, billboards, the GPS, duck crossings, and all the other things that distract us while we drive, but we don’t always remember to consider the same distractions the people sitting right next to us can pose. Far too many of our typical automobile accidents are those that involve multiple people in the same car—a distracted mother or a distracted friend—all because we forget the responsibility we hold as their passengers. Children asking their parents for a snack, highschoolers showing their friend a story online, or your really loud cousins making a scene in the back seat—all while you as the driver are trying to navigate down a busy street. The implications of being a passenger matter just as much as those of being a driver, and as someone who has sat in both seats, I can attest to that.

I was eleven when I experienced my first big car accident, and having been the only other person in the car with my mom, I can’t help but feel responsible for it. It was a dark night on the I-210, a freeway notorious for its heavy and unpredictable traffic in Los Angeles, and we were driving to my grandparents’ house to stay the night for a golf tournament. Traffic was moving slowly and intermittently, so out of boredom I asked my mom for her phone. As she picked up her phone and started tapping in the password, the small Prius in front of us suddenly stopped with the rest of the cars ahead of us as my mom, whose attention was now on her phone, kept her foot on the gas. I yelled, “CAR!!” but it was too late. We had closed too much distance to stop, and before my mom could react our SUV had completely crushed the back of the Prius. Luckily the lady was driving alone so nobody was injured, but the back of her car was definitely totaled. We managed to luck out with only a big dent along the hood and bumper, but that doesn’t change the fact that it could’ve all been avoided had I just let my mom focus on the road. Even if it was only for a few seconds, those seconds were the difference between getting to my grandparents’ house on time and a crushed Prius. From this experience I realized two things: first, that despite their popularity, Priuses aren’t actually very safe cars, and second, more importantly, that you don’t have to be behind the wheel to pose a danger to others on the road. Even as an eleven-year-old kid, you can have just as much influence on the road as an adult driver.

Years later I now find myself in the driver’s seat facing those same challenges. Even though I’ve been driving for a while now, it still makes me uneasy whenever I take my eyes off the road to look at the GPS, something outside, or even check my mirrors, showing how important a driver’s focus is to safe driving. I remember one scary incident that happened barely a month after receiving my license. As I was driving through a tight two-lane bridge, my mom who was in the passenger seat and my sister who was in the back seat suddenly began pointing out the window, “Look! They’re pulling a boat out of the water!” Unable to control my own curiosity, I tried to steal a quick look for myself. But before I could even see where the boat was, several alarms in the car started going off for what I thought was the car drifting out of the lane. As I returned my attention back to the road in panic, it was to my even greater horror that the alarms were actually for the sedan that had suddenly stopped in front of me and that I was only seconds away from smashing into. Luckily the sedan didn’t suffer the same fate as the Prius, and I was able to stop the car with what looked like less than a foot of room. However, just imagining the embarrassment of rear-ending another car after receiving my license was more than enough to open my eyes to the distractive powers of our passengers.

In that situation, it would be easy for me to just put the blame on my passengers’ inconsiderate tendencies, but really, I am equally, and if not, more at fault for allowing them to divert my attention in the first place. Just as we have a responsibility as passengers to keep our drivers focused on the road, we have an equal responsibility as drivers to keep our focus away from our passengers. Regardless of whatever may happen inside the car, it is still the one behind the wheel who is held accountable for whatever happens outside on the road. So as much as I can remind people about being respectful of the driver, we can’t always rely on others to uphold that same end. So next time you climb into the driver’s seat, it wouldn’t hurt to give your passengers an extra reminder about giving your attention a little room to work.

To be clear, this is not meant to discourage people from driving with others. I still recognize that carpooling is a vital means of transportation for many underserved families and workers, as well as an easy way to limit the harmful effects vehicles have on the environment and promote better energy saving practices. However, these reasons only make it all the more important that we are aware of this problem. In the driver’s seat, it is our responsibility to be mindful of the distractions our passengers pose. In the passenger’s seat, it is our responsibility to be mindful of the distractions we pose to our driver. In either one, though, it is up to you to uphold that duty. Don’t be the distraction.