The Passenger Seat
08-21-2010, 05:58 PM
#1
Thread Starter
The Passenger Seat
I love to drive. I’ll go most anywhere so long as I can do the driving. I’ve always felt that way. Thinking back to the time before I had my license, I was much the same way. I couldn’t wait to get my learner’s permit, driver’s ed was my favorite subject, and I wanted to practice every chance I could. Whenever my folks or my older sister had some free time, I’d make them take me out driving. After I got my license, I spent a lot of hours just driving, not necessarily going anywhere, just driving.
My wife, Liz, is very much the opposite. To her a car is nothing more than a means of transportation and driving is the necessary evil you have to engage in to get from point a to point b. I guess I understand it. Having grown up in the heart of the city, her family never owned a car and didn’t need to. She didn’t get her license until her mid 20s, and even then, didn’t much drive until we moved out to the suburbs about 16 years ago. I never really minded it. She could get where ever she needed to go by subway or walking, and whenever we did take our car anywhere I got to drive.
My oldest son, Andrew, feels pretty much the same way as my wife. Being younger and having grown up in the suburbs, he’s not nearly so intimidated by driving as she is, but he too thinks it’s just something that you have to do to get from point a to point b. It’s a necessary thing to be doing, but the idea that it could be fun has never occurred to him. To him a car is an appliance and driving is the means to getting somewhere. With pressure he’ll even admit that its freedom, but twist his arm if you like, you could never convince him that it’s something to do just for fun. If you ever told him to just go for a drive, he’d tell you where to get off.
As a result of all of that, I’ve almost always been the driver. I haven’t minded at all. As I’ve said before, I love driving. I love everything about it. I could never understand how people get bored on long drives or even feel asleep. Not me, to me getting there has always been much more fun than being there, no matter where there is. Up until just recently I’ve spent most of my travel time where I wanted to be, in the driver’s seat.
Now, all of a sudden, everything is changing. My youngest son, Adam, turned 16 in June, and the only thing he wanted for his birthday was his learner’s permit. I’d been letting him drive up the driveway and down the street with me in the car since he’s been 15, but, it was hardly satisfying to him to have to turn the car back over to me once we reached the corner. Now that he’s got his learner’s permit he drives the entire way. Adam’s feelings about driving and cars are very much the same as mine. Cars are special. They are things to be cared for and appreciated. Driving isn’t a chore, it’s an activity to be enjoyed. It’s one of the fun things in life. It’s something to be done whenever you have a chance to do it.
I, of course, want to teach him to drive properly and defensively, so I take him out driving every chance I get. Whenever we go anywhere, he drives, and on afternoons when there’s nothing to do, I take him out to practice. If he’s going to make some mistakes, I’d rather he make them while I’m sitting next to him and able to get him out of trouble in the hopes that he won’t make the same mistakes when he’s on his own.
So now I find myself spending more and more time in the passenger’s seat. It’s really not so bad. All of a sudden I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. I have time to look at something passing by without worrying about keeping my eyes on the road. I can play with my blackberry or fiddle with the radio without worrying about traffic, I can talk to my wife in the back seat, and even look at her during the conversation. I’ve even started to notice things that have always been there that I was never able to notice from the driver’s seat.
Not that I don’t miss driving, I do. My left leg falls asleep without having to step on the clutch and I don’t know what to do with my right arm. Sometimes when the light turns red I find myself stepping on the imaginary brake pedal in the passenger compartment, and sometimes I even yawn out of boredom. I’m beginning to understand why my wife used to complain about long drives, and for the first time in my life I find my muscles getting stiff at the end of a long drive.
Not that I mind the passenger seat, but I really would rather be driving.
Luckily, Adam will have his license in about 11 months. He’s going to be a very good driver. He takes driving very seriously, and wants to drive as well as he can. I’m going to give him my Si for his first car. It’s perfect. It’s sporty enough for a young man, and with 75,000 miles it’ll be broken in perfectly for him. He drives it (and the S2000 and the TSX) very well.
I can’t wait. I don’t so much mind the passenger seat, but I really do prefer the driver’s seat.
My wife, Liz, is very much the opposite. To her a car is nothing more than a means of transportation and driving is the necessary evil you have to engage in to get from point a to point b. I guess I understand it. Having grown up in the heart of the city, her family never owned a car and didn’t need to. She didn’t get her license until her mid 20s, and even then, didn’t much drive until we moved out to the suburbs about 16 years ago. I never really minded it. She could get where ever she needed to go by subway or walking, and whenever we did take our car anywhere I got to drive.
My oldest son, Andrew, feels pretty much the same way as my wife. Being younger and having grown up in the suburbs, he’s not nearly so intimidated by driving as she is, but he too thinks it’s just something that you have to do to get from point a to point b. It’s a necessary thing to be doing, but the idea that it could be fun has never occurred to him. To him a car is an appliance and driving is the means to getting somewhere. With pressure he’ll even admit that its freedom, but twist his arm if you like, you could never convince him that it’s something to do just for fun. If you ever told him to just go for a drive, he’d tell you where to get off.
As a result of all of that, I’ve almost always been the driver. I haven’t minded at all. As I’ve said before, I love driving. I love everything about it. I could never understand how people get bored on long drives or even feel asleep. Not me, to me getting there has always been much more fun than being there, no matter where there is. Up until just recently I’ve spent most of my travel time where I wanted to be, in the driver’s seat.
Now, all of a sudden, everything is changing. My youngest son, Adam, turned 16 in June, and the only thing he wanted for his birthday was his learner’s permit. I’d been letting him drive up the driveway and down the street with me in the car since he’s been 15, but, it was hardly satisfying to him to have to turn the car back over to me once we reached the corner. Now that he’s got his learner’s permit he drives the entire way. Adam’s feelings about driving and cars are very much the same as mine. Cars are special. They are things to be cared for and appreciated. Driving isn’t a chore, it’s an activity to be enjoyed. It’s one of the fun things in life. It’s something to be done whenever you have a chance to do it.
I, of course, want to teach him to drive properly and defensively, so I take him out driving every chance I get. Whenever we go anywhere, he drives, and on afternoons when there’s nothing to do, I take him out to practice. If he’s going to make some mistakes, I’d rather he make them while I’m sitting next to him and able to get him out of trouble in the hopes that he won’t make the same mistakes when he’s on his own.
So now I find myself spending more and more time in the passenger’s seat. It’s really not so bad. All of a sudden I’m seeing things I’ve never seen before. I have time to look at something passing by without worrying about keeping my eyes on the road. I can play with my blackberry or fiddle with the radio without worrying about traffic, I can talk to my wife in the back seat, and even look at her during the conversation. I’ve even started to notice things that have always been there that I was never able to notice from the driver’s seat.
Not that I don’t miss driving, I do. My left leg falls asleep without having to step on the clutch and I don’t know what to do with my right arm. Sometimes when the light turns red I find myself stepping on the imaginary brake pedal in the passenger compartment, and sometimes I even yawn out of boredom. I’m beginning to understand why my wife used to complain about long drives, and for the first time in my life I find my muscles getting stiff at the end of a long drive.
Not that I mind the passenger seat, but I really would rather be driving.
Luckily, Adam will have his license in about 11 months. He’s going to be a very good driver. He takes driving very seriously, and wants to drive as well as he can. I’m going to give him my Si for his first car. It’s perfect. It’s sporty enough for a young man, and with 75,000 miles it’ll be broken in perfectly for him. He drives it (and the S2000 and the TSX) very well.
I can’t wait. I don’t so much mind the passenger seat, but I really do prefer the driver’s seat.
08-21-2010, 06:11 PM
#2
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I am much the same way. If we go on long trips, I usually drive most of the way. My wife can drive for about two hours before she starts to fall asleep, and my daughter would rather sit in the back and watch movies and read. Getting her to drive anywhere has been a fair amount of work.
I generally find that driving is very relaxing for me. It gives me something to concentrate on, but the scenery changes constantly, so I don't get bored.
Just like in my college days, I can get in a car and drive a thousand miles.
I generally find that driving is very relaxing for me. It gives me something to concentrate on, but the scenery changes constantly, so I don't get bored.
Just like in my college days, I can get in a car and drive a thousand miles.
08-21-2010, 08:31 PM
#4
Registered User
Rob, I'm with you, except I have no kids. My +1 is happy to let me drive, even in the S which is her car. I always enjoy it, and I don't enjoy being in the passenger seat and out of control.
One thing I have found though. As I age I can no longer drive long distance at night without getting sleepy. In younger days I drove non-stop from L.A. to Kansas non-stop, visited for a few days, then on non-stop to Chicago. I couldn't do that now if my life depended on it. But now I can afford a hotel.
One thing I have found though. As I age I can no longer drive long distance at night without getting sleepy. In younger days I drove non-stop from L.A. to Kansas non-stop, visited for a few days, then on non-stop to Chicago. I couldn't do that now if my life depended on it. But now I can afford a hotel.
Great job, Rob. I enjoy the experience of driving more than most of my friends/family. I do have to stop to stretch/walk around on long trips after 2-3 hours.
08-22-2010, 07:26 AM
#7
Registered User
I love being the driver and hate being the passenger. I 
it's a control thing. But I'm almost always the passenger in the +1's Lexus. I don't care to drive it all that much. The S is a different story. 
it's a control thing. But I'm almost always the passenger in the +1's Lexus. I don't care to drive it all that much. The S is a different story.
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08-22-2010, 09:04 AM
#8
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I almost always drive whenever we are going out. Its part control freak, part motion sickness, part control freak. My wife is happy 99% of the time to let me drive because she gets to relax and we generally get where ever we are going quicker.
The only times I don't drive are if I am extremely tired or sick and I just want to sleep. It is quite nice to go to sleep, wake up and have arrived at your destination, especially when were used to live in MD and were traveling to Pittsburgh to see friends/family.
The S2K is a different story though. Part of the fun of owning it is letting a select few of my friends have seat time on the drivers side. I know how fortunate I am to be able to own one and I love to show it off whenever I can. Most of the time that is with me in the driver's seat but when the opportunity presents itself I will let friends take over.
I think I enjoy it more than them because I finally get to sit back and relax and enjoy the ride. I get to look around at everything you are missing while focused on driving. I get to see people's reactions as we cruise by and have more time to wave back when little kids point and smile.
Nothing beats driving and nothing comes close to driving my S but riding shotgun isn't that bad from time to time.
My wife is happy 99% of the time to let me drive because she gets to relax and we generally get where ever we are going quicker.The only times I don't drive are if I am extremely tired or sick and I just want to sleep. It is quite nice to go to sleep, wake up and have arrived at your destination, especially when were used to live in MD and were traveling to Pittsburgh to see friends/family.
The S2K is a different story though. Part of the fun of owning it is letting a select few of my friends have seat time on the drivers side. I know how fortunate I am to be able to own one and I love to show it off whenever I can. Most of the time that is with me in the driver's seat but when the opportunity presents itself I will let friends take over.
I think I enjoy it more than them because I finally get to sit back and relax and enjoy the ride. I get to look around at everything you are missing while focused on driving. I get to see people's reactions as we cruise by and have more time to wave back when little kids point and smile.
Nothing beats driving and nothing comes close to driving my S but riding shotgun isn't that bad from time to time.
08-22-2010, 12:16 PM
#9
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Rob. Here's how I remember Adam - very excited to be getting a ride in a cool old Honda 
I think you sent me the pic to post on Honda Sports Registry. I'm glad - and not surprised - that he has turned out to still love cars.
Last month, when I was S-less, my friend Aashish let me attend an Upstate drive as his plus one for the day.
It was an interesting experience being in the passenger seat!
VTEC was still a blast and it was more fun riding in an S, than driving my Civic
08-22-2010, 03:24 PM
#10
I love to drive! I can drive for hours and days on end. My late wife tolerated the passenger seat but would have rather not ride or drive. My new +1 likes to occupy the right seat. I have offered several times to let her drive but said I would be happier in the left seat. Very wise woman!