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A backseat driver (also spelled back-seat driver) is a passenger in a
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...
who is not controlling the vehicle but who excessively comments on the driver's actions and decisions in an attempt to control the vehicle.
A backseat driver may be uncomfortable with the skills of the
driver, feel out of control since they are not driving the vehicle, or want to tutor the driver while they are at the wheel. Many comment on the speed of the vehicle, or give alternative directions.
Some backseat drivers exhibit this type of behavior simply because they feel the driver is taking risks they would not normally take, while others may have other reasons to be nervous, such as when the driver has a poor driving record.
A survey of 2,000 British drivers in early 2018 found that 70% motorists found backseat driving an annoying habit and that
life partners were those most likely to interfere. Although only 21% of motorists admitted to backseat driving, half said they have been in arguments due to interfering comments, and five percent admitted to accidentally jumping a red light during an argument with a backseat driver.
Use of the term extends beyond the literal and into the
figurative; a "backseat driver" is someone who offers unsolicited advice, directions, or help in a situation where someone else is doing something.
Examples in context
The term has been used for technology, such as devices installed in a car which observe the driving through electronic means, and inform the driver or a third party.
The Maine Department of Transportation has a web poster "Are you a Good Back Seat Driver?" asking "True or False: Being a Backseat Driver means it is okay to be noisy or distracting to the driver as long as you are giving them safety tips." The Inland Register produced by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane makes use of it in a sermon: "Even our phrase 'back-seat driver' reflects this new-found freedom. Which of us who has graduated to the status of driver enjoys a passenger, especially one out of reach in the back seat, who seems to know how to drive better than we do?"
The Art of being a Backseat Driver in the ''San Bernardino County Sun'' summarizes various comments of the sort otherwise found in multiple blogs. Some are specialized, such as the Back Seat Driving blog, formerly the "LA Car Blog".
Appearances in culture
The term is used in
Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars, an episode of ''
Invader Zim
''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...
''. A poem "The Backseat Driver" by Parick G Hughes appears in the Northern Ireland
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
The act of giving instructions to a driver has been used as a humorous idea for a game. In ''All things Considered'' on
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
for July 19, 2006, there is an account of a "Back Seat Driver competition in Forest City, Iowa.
..The event—in which a driver races backward while blindfolded and instructed by the voice of a companion over an intercom—is in its eighth year." It has even been noticed by ''
People's Daily''.
In ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
'' season 3 episode, Master Vile and the Metallic Armor, showed Rito being a backseat driver. He asks Master Vile "Are We There yet?" and annoyed him. Rito gets yelled at by him for the whining and not letting him work in peace. Master Vile threaten to turn the Space Skull around and send him back to Rita and Zedd if he doesn't behave himself.
A couple of episodes in ''
Power Rangers Zeo
''Power Rangers Zeo'' is a television series and the fourth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series ''Chouriki Sentai Ohranger''. It is the continuation of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', which aired in ...
'' shows example of backseat drivers with
Rita Repulsa
Rita Repulsa is a fictional character from the television series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', and the principal nemesis and archenemy of the main superhero protagonists in the show's first season. She is portrayed in the first season by Mac ...
and
Goldar
Goldar (known as Flydar in the pilot episode) is a fictional character from the television series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''. A powerful yet overconfident warrior that serves under the command of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, he is one of the ...
in the
motorhome
A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation.
Features
Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...
base they share with
Lord Zedd
This is a list of characters in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise's inaugural season '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and its theatrical adaptation '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie''.
For the purposes of this article, the miniseries '' ...
,
Finster Finster is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Felix Finster, mathematician
* Howard Finster, folk artist
*Carl Hermann Arthur Finster, C.H. Arthur Finster, diplomat and genealogists
;Fictional characters
*Baby-Face Finster, a cr ...
, and
Rito. On their way back to the palace, Rita's constant demanding lands the base a flat tire, which she and Zedd blame each other. After getting the tire fixed and back driving, Goldar shows up with the map that Zedd needs and unintentionally proceeds to be another backseat driver by overly trying to help them with the map that lands the motorhome base with yet another flat tire. Surely, Rita and Zedd blames him for the mess. Another example of a backseat driver is Rito whose constant asking of "Are We There Yet?", irritated both Zedd and Rita to the point they threaten to kick him out of the motorhome and make him walk the rest of the way to the palace.
James Bond in ''
Tomorrow Never Dies
''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...
'' is forced to dive into the rear seat of his
BMW 750il and drive it from
a cellular phone that can remotely control the car. Later in the film, both he and Wai Lin are handcuffed together and must jointly ride a motorcycle while constantly bickering.
The earlier episodes of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' shows examples of backseat drivers in the form of
Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
and
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
annoying
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
to no end with their asking of "Are we there yet?", causing him to snap at them. One time in the season 2 episode "
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", while driving to Detroit to visit Herb Powell,
Marge lost her patience with Bart and Lisa being backseat drivers.
Related idioms
Armchair quarterback refers to a sports fan who thinks that he or she knows better than the players themselves and is always eager to shout advice, whether live at the game or, more commonly, sitting at home in a chair ''(hence "armchair")''. Similarly, the phrase
armchair general
"Armchair general" is a derogatory term for a person who regards themselves as an expert on military matters, despite having little to no actual experience in the military. Alternatively, it can mean a military commander who does not participat ...
is used to refer to somebody who is not in the military but thinks that he or she knows better than the generals who plan military operations. This term can be used in many of the same situations as backseat driver. In Italy, the term
umarell
Umarell (; Italian revisitation of the Bolognese Emilian word ''umarèl'', plural ''umarî'') are men of retirement age who spend their time watching construction sites, especially roadworksstereotypically with hands clasped behind their back an ...
refers to men of retirement age who pass time watching roadworks, offering unwanted advice, similar to a "
sidewalk superintendent" in English.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Back-seat driver
English-language idioms
Driving