A passenger does not need to be some hitchhiker you picked up to pose a threat to your safety. The biggest threat to your safety you are ever likely to face from a passenger is probably from someone you know and love. Family and friends can threaten a driver’s safety — plus their own and that of other road users — by merely doing the things they always do, without any malice involved. Pets can do the same.
It is practically impossible to have a passenger that causes zero distraction, except perhaps if they are asleep the whole time.
What sort of distractions do passengers cause?
Dogs can distract you by barking or moving around. A cat could distract you by mewing constantly to express its displeasure at being confined to a crate in the back.
Your baby could distract you by crying or just by looking so cute that you cannot resist giving them lingering looks which means you won’t be looking at the road. Your children could distract you by bickering, asking questions, wanting you to pass them food, or making funny faces at you in the mirror.
As for your older passengers, they too can distract you in many ways. It might be by engaging you in a deep conversation that has you pondering rather than thinking about what the vehicles around you are doing. It could be by affectionately resting their hand on your leg which leaves you less able to hit the brakes in an emergency. Or it could be by constantly changing the music, asking for a light or any other thing that distracts you momentarily.
Drivers have a responsibility to do their best to avoid distractions, including those that passengers present. While you may take sensible precautions, other drivers may not. If a crash occurs, you may need to learn about your legal options.
