YOU’RE BACKSEAT-DRIVING ME MAD!

BRITAIN’S fed-up motorists have come up with a top ten of the most irritating things that backseat drivers say…and the worst is: “You should have gone the other way.”

A nationwide study showed that 83 per cent of drivers regularly suffer from unelpful passenger comments, and the main culprit is usually their partner.

Among the most annoying phrases are, “Aren’t you a bit close to the car in front” and “Do you know it’s a 30mph limit here?”, according to research by insurance experts Money Expert.

The top ten worst backseat driver sayings are:

1.                 You should have gone the other way.

2.                 Aren’t you a bit close to the car in front?

3.                 You were pretty close to that cyclist.

4.                 Do you know it’s a 30mph limit here?

5.                 Shouldn’t you slow down?

6.                 We’re not in a hurry are we?

7.                 What’s the rush?

8.                 This car could do with a clean.

9.                 Shall I show you a short cut?

10.            You have precious cargo in here, you know.

And it’s not just what passengers say that niggles, it’s their habits too, according to a study of 2,000 UK drivers.

Leaving rubbish from snacks and drinks in the car comes out on top as the biggest annoyance for 30%, closely followed by giving late directions and making the driver lose concentration.

Over half UK drivers have actively avoided giving someone a lift in their car because of their behaviour, with one in five even faking an illness to get out of it.

Meanwhile most UK drivers rate themselves as great behind the wheel, much better than their family and friends.

Seven out of 10 consider themselves to be good or extremely good drivers, but one in 10 say they wouldn’t let their mum, partner or best friend drive their car because they’d be likely to crash!

While backseat drivers can be annoying, it seems that lockdown has caused many of us to reflect and in many case actually miss them!

Almost four in 10 (37%) have admitted to this as most are just happy to have the company again (42%). Four in 10 realised they actually like the passenger more than they thought they did, 38% believe that the nagging actually made them a better driver and over a quarter (28%) took realised that they were actually just being irritable.

Money Expert‘s CEO Jason Smith says, “Backseat drivers are a pain for almost every driver and while many trust their own driving ability, it’s interesting that they’re not so trusting of friends and family! This research shows that many drivers’ habits have changed since before lockdown to now. This provides an opportunity to get over lockdown apathy and save money on your car insurance renewal by comparing and finding a deal that rewards things like decreased mileage or keeping your car on your driveway for most of the time.

For more information visit https://www.moneyexpert.com/