World's first 'passenger lessons' introduced to ease 'backseat driver' tension
A study of 2,000 drivers has revealed the most annoying passenger habits that lead to arguments and tension
Tempcover has launched a 'Passenger Prince' online theory test
(Image: PinPep )
Complaining, obstructing the mirrors and reaching for an imaginary brake are just some of the most irksome behaviours of car passengers.
Other annoyances include passengers watching loud videos on their phones, resting their feet on the dashboard, and issuing unnecessary warnings about other vehicles merging into traffic.
The survey of 2,000 motorists highlighted nearly half of all couples admit that their journeys often turn into heated arguments, with almost one in five resorting to giving each other the cold shoulder afterwards, thanks to bad passenger behaviour.
The study indicates that a fifth of women consider their partner to be an annoying passenger, which may stem from the fact that men tend to dominate driving responsibilities in relationships.
Seven in 10 men think they're a good passenger, despite women disagreeing
Two thirds of men say they usually take the wheel in the relationship with almost half under the impression they are the better driver. One in five men view driving as part of their share of household duties, and dislike it when their partner drives.
Article continues below
Marc Pell, managing director at Tempcover, the temporary insurance provider behind the study, commented: "There's never been formal guidance on how to be a good passenger, and that can lead to real tension, especially between couples."
PSM Driving School is taking a unique turn by launching the world's first lessons for car passengers. Mark commented: "We're hoping some passenger lessons will help people rethink their passenger habits and improve the in-car dynamic,".
The firm's research reveals that in many relationships, men often take charge of driving; however, these novel lessons are designed to change the status quo. Mark explained: "this is a way to flip the usual driving roles - letting a partner take the wheel so they can learn to be a princely co-pilot, letting go and discovering the joy of being chauffeured."
A striking 66% of women said backseat drivers were a nuisance, and the data suggests that 42% of female drivers feel increased tension due to poor passengers, with 19% becoming apprehensive about their next turn at the wheel.
Paul Middleton, owner and driving instructor at PSM Driving School, said: "Poor passenger etiquette can really knock a driver's confidence - especially in relationships."
He continued: "From backseat driving to constant complaints, it's often the little habits that make journeys more stressful than they need to be.
Article continues below
"We're excited to offer lessons from our professional driving instructors, helping people unlearn unhelpful behaviours and become passengers who support, not stress out the person behind the wheel."
Top 20 annoying passenger habits:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
10-07-2025
- Metro
Wrestling icon's children set to carry family legacy after uncle's death aged 38
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Mark Briscoe is expecting the 'next generation of Briscoes' to carry the torch for the iconic tag team. The 40-year-old AEW star, whose brother and tag team partner Jay Briscoe died in a car crash in January 2023 aged just 38, smiled as he pondered the idea of his or his late sibling's children stepping into the family business. Speaking days before AEW All In, he exclusively told Metro: 'I'd be pretty surprised if you didn't see at least a few of the next generation of Briscoes carry on the torch of what daddy and Uncle Jay [did].' The proud father-of-eight – with 'number nine on the way' – revealed that a few of his kids are already showing a lot of promise as wrestlers. 'Four of the eight currently, I could see them being wrestlers. Two of them, I would put my money on them being wrestlers,' he said. 'Now Jay's kids, his three kids, they're not – they don't necessarily strike me as they want to get into wrestling, but all three of them have amazing potential.' Mark explained that fans should hope any of the soon-to-be 11 Briscoe kids get into the family business if they ever want to see him in another traditional tag team match. 'Unless it's one of my kids or one of Jay's kids, [that] would be the only way that I do another two on two tag match,' he said, as he reflected on his current 'second career' as a singles star. Since Jay's death, his brother hasn't had a regular tag match, instead wrestling either as a singles star, or in six-man battles. But he nearly hung up his boots for good. 'When the accident first happened, one of my first thoughts was, 'Man, I don't want to ever wrestle again' type thing,' he said. 'But it wasn't long at all, and it was like… I'm not going to make it if I don't wrestle. Like, this is my therapy.' For Mark, continuing wrestling means he still has a bond with his brother by doing something they've shared since childhood. 'There's no time when in a wrestling ring that I don't feel like he's right there with me,' he smiled. 'We've always done it together.' As part of a now-legendary Ring of Honor roster featuring the likes of Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, CM Punk and Kevin Owens, Mark is proud of the impact they had on the business. 'All of us, collectively, we changed wrestling,' he said. 'What wrestling is now is because of what we were doing 15, 20 years ago. It's cool feeling.' That legacy continued after AEW boss Tony Khan bought ROH, with the Briscoe Brothers battling FTR in an already iconic trilogy culminating in a Dog Collar match in Texas just weeks before Jay died. Mark described the match as a 'moment in time that was perfect in its own way, yet so incredibly brutal'. 'It didn't even feel real,' he recalled of the match. 'Of course, a month later, with the accident, looking back, it's like a storybook or something.' As a single's star, Mark is striving to represent his brother – but he insisted there's no way he can match what they did on his own. 'I don't think on my best day times 10 I could even touch what me and Jay did together,' he candidly said. He added: 'I want to do good enough where people are like, 'Man, I really enjoy watching Mark Briscoe, I heard about he had a brother, Jay, who passed away back in '23. ''I heard that they were a really good tag team. Let me go look up some old Briscoe brother tag team matches', and then it'd be like, 'Whoa. I thought I liked Mark Briscoe, but man…' Meanwhile, Mark pointed out how his own faith in God and the afterlife is the only way he's able to keep going himself. 'If I even for a second, even even half a percent of me, thought that Jay was dead and gone and never to exist again, then I wouldn't be able to carry on with day to day life,' he pondered. 'I can still feel him. I know that he's more alive than I am… He's doing better than me. He don't gotta worry about bills, taxes, none of the bullcrap that we gotta worry about on a day to day basis!' More Trending Heading into this weekend's Casino Gauntlet, and looking ahead to the second stage of his career, Mark has two key goals. 'Two years into my second career without my brother, it's definitely different, but I like it. If I can't have my boy to tag with, then let me go show him what I got on my own,' he shrugged. '[And] this is almost my duty, I gotta carry on the legacy of the Briscoe Brothers.' View More » Tune into AEW All In 2025 on Sunday, July 12 at 8pm. UK viewers can tune in via Amazon Prime Video. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'I lead one of TV's biggest sci-fi shows, but no one recognises me' MORE: Too Much is Netflix's best ever comedy – I've already binged it twice MORE: I'm a TV critic – Netflix new gripping thriller is one of my top July picks
Top Gear
03-07-2025
- Top Gear
Life with an old Porsche 911 GT3 RS: how should you protect the paint?
Ricci's Garage In an unexpected move, Mark has decided to look after one of his cars... specifically, the 991 Skip 3 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Renowned photographer Mark has been working with TopGear for many, many years. When not taking photos he's buying inappropriate cars. Here he shares his addiction with the world In a very rare turn of events, I've spent this month doing something quite sensible: I've decided to look after one of the cars I already own. A few years ago I bought a 991 GT3 RS. Within three months I took great pride in doubling its mileage and using it for every journey possible, be that the school run or taking the dog to the vet, which does require popping out the fire extinguisher first. Advertisement - Page continues below There was also once where my daughter left her coat in the footwell after going to the park. This in itself wasn't an issue, however the several snails she'd picked up and placed in her pockets later would be. This only came to light the following day when several trails were spotted across the dashboard, something Porsche's R&D department never factored in. I never found those snails, but it did provide a necessary wake-up call that I should probably look after the RS a bit better. Over that time several wheels were now chipped, the paint had to be corrected and the interior – aside from harbouring snails – was becoming quite scuffed. Before I could do any further damage, I looked into the world of PPF (paint protective film) to see if it would be worth the cost in the long run. I've never had any PPF on any car before, and my only past experience was seeing god awful installs that resembled clingfilm being used rather than protective film. You might like After a bit of research I settled on a company called XPEL for a few key reasons. Firstly, it's been around for a very long time – 1997 in fact – and as such it's built up a decent selection of products depending on what budget and what kind of protection you're after. But what really impressed me with XPEL is the huge range of car makes and models it has on file. Rather than drape a gigantic sheet of film over a car and hope for the best, XPEL has templates stored within its database specific to individual cars that allows individual panels to be cut and wrapped with minimal waste. Not only does this save money by cutting down the amount of film needed, but it also provides a much cleaner look as each panel's protective film is precisely cut to shape making it incredibly difficult to spot whether it's even had PPF applied. Advertisement - Page continues below For my GT3, I settled on XPEL's Ultimate Plus range which boasts more features than just protection against paint damage. The film also protects against UV exposure, but also contaminants like bird muck that will actually burn into your paintwork if not removed leaving long term damage. It will also 'heal' itself apparently, which is activated by the sun's heat meaning it'll actively reduce swirl marks and light scratches on the film every time it's heated up. PPF is a bit like buying decent tyres for your car. It's not always the most exciting thing to spend money on, nor is it immediately noticeable. But it's also one of those things which should – touch wood – save you more money in the long term than the initial cost. I know I can't be trusted to properly look after any car I own, so having XPEL do a lot of that hard work for me does give me some peace of mind. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Wales Online
10-06-2025
- Wales Online
World's first 'passenger lessons' introduced to ease 'backseat driver' tension
World's first 'passenger lessons' introduced to ease 'backseat driver' tension A study of 2,000 drivers has revealed the most annoying passenger habits that lead to arguments and tension Tempcover has launched a 'Passenger Prince' online theory test (Image: PinPep ) Complaining, obstructing the mirrors and reaching for an imaginary brake are just some of the most irksome behaviours of car passengers. Other annoyances include passengers watching loud videos on their phones, resting their feet on the dashboard, and issuing unnecessary warnings about other vehicles merging into traffic. The survey of 2,000 motorists highlighted nearly half of all couples admit that their journeys often turn into heated arguments, with almost one in five resorting to giving each other the cold shoulder afterwards, thanks to bad passenger behaviour. The study indicates that a fifth of women consider their partner to be an annoying passenger, which may stem from the fact that men tend to dominate driving responsibilities in relationships. Seven in 10 men think they're a good passenger, despite women disagreeing Two thirds of men say they usually take the wheel in the relationship with almost half under the impression they are the better driver. One in five men view driving as part of their share of household duties, and dislike it when their partner drives. Article continues below Marc Pell, managing director at Tempcover, the temporary insurance provider behind the study, commented: "There's never been formal guidance on how to be a good passenger, and that can lead to real tension, especially between couples." PSM Driving School is taking a unique turn by launching the world's first lessons for car passengers. Mark commented: "We're hoping some passenger lessons will help people rethink their passenger habits and improve the in-car dynamic,". The firm's research reveals that in many relationships, men often take charge of driving; however, these novel lessons are designed to change the status quo. Mark explained: "this is a way to flip the usual driving roles - letting a partner take the wheel so they can learn to be a princely co-pilot, letting go and discovering the joy of being chauffeured." A striking 66% of women said backseat drivers were a nuisance, and the data suggests that 42% of female drivers feel increased tension due to poor passengers, with 19% becoming apprehensive about their next turn at the wheel. Paul Middleton, owner and driving instructor at PSM Driving School, said: "Poor passenger etiquette can really knock a driver's confidence - especially in relationships." He continued: "From backseat driving to constant complaints, it's often the little habits that make journeys more stressful than they need to be. Article continues below "We're excited to offer lessons from our professional driving instructors, helping people unlearn unhelpful behaviours and become passengers who support, not stress out the person behind the wheel." Top 20 annoying passenger habits:
