Why do they do it?

[danphoto]

Why, when driving a car and talking to the front seat passenger, do so many car drivers feel the need to take their eyes off the road and look at the passenger every time they say something?

I'd never thought about this until several years ago, when the lady wife pointed out that whenever I've given somebody a lift in the front seat of our motor car, sooner or later they'd remark upon the fact that I didn't turn to look at them when talking to them - and those comments were invariably positive.

Since then I've been astonished by how often we'll be following a car the driver of which seems incapable of talking to the occupant of the front seat without looking at them. Further research is necessary to determine whether these are the same people who, when cornering in a motor car, lean into the bend, but for now - any theories as to why they are compelled to do it?

 

[e-rider]

I don't know BUT I was following a car the other day and I was convinced the driver was drunk or using their mobile phone - they were seriously close to causing an accident. Anyway, turns out that 'probably' the guy was just talking to his wife and taking his eyes off the road. I have no proof that he wasn't pissed though! Idiot none-the-less.

 

[atbman]

They're lip-reading deaf drivers

 

[Silver Fox]

Some motorists are idiots who can't think or look beyond the end of the bonnet. They're wrapped up in their metal cocoon, oblivious to the hazards around them.

 

[summerdays]

It's quite a natural instinct (for most people) to look at the person you are talking or listening to, both to gauge their reaction to what is being said or to read the non-verbal communication and to check if they are listening. I think it depends whether they just glance in that direction or whether they are giving too much of their attention to the passenger.

 

[fossyant]

Tend to watch the road only - whilst telling the kids to stop fighting or they will be ejected.

 

[ColinJ]

Tend to watch the road only - whilst telling the kids to stop fighting or they will be ejected.

Unlike the woman who nearly drove over me on the climb of Saddleworth Moor from Greenfield - she drove past very close to me, facing her kids in the back seat and arguing with them!

 

[Headgardener]

Unlike the woman who nearly drove over me on the climb of Saddleworth Moor from Greenfield - she drove past very close to me, facing her kids in the back seat and arguing with them!

That is frightening Colin.

 

[ColinJ]

That is frightening Colin.

I don't know who was more scared - me, or the driver!

I was grovelling a bit on the climb and staring down at my handlebars as the vehicle passed. I was shocked at how close it was and looked up to see a very startled driver looking back at me over the heads of her squabbling kids!

How anybody can think it is safe to twist round through nearly 180[sup]o [/sup]while driving, I don't know ...

 

[fossyant]

Oh my.

We tend to pull over, stop the car, and do nothing till they stop fighting. They have got the jist

 

[ThePainInSpain]

Don't know how you lot would cope here.............

The Spanish do not stop talking, and not only do they HAVE to face the person they are talking to, but find it necessary to wave their arms about. All this whilst driving.
And they're rubbish drivers at the best of times.

They also all have a load of cheap tat hanging from their rear view mirror. Often religious, that's ok they will never die in an accident God is with them................

The big question all the ex-pats ask is...............how can the Spanish talk so fast and walk so bloody slow

 

[ColinJ]

The big question all the ex-pats ask is...............how can the Spanish talk so fast and walk so bloody slow

Too busy talking to think about walking?

I know an ex-pat couple who live near Benidorm and have been there for 20-odd years watching the rapid changes in the area. They say that tourists now see all the shiny new buildings and don't realise that most of the locals were peasant farmers about 25 years ago.

An old Spanish chap told our family friend that the reason that some older local drivers stop dead in the middle of the road and leave their cars there when they go into the shops is because that's what they used to do with their donkeys when they were younger!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Well, obviously you shouldn't stare fixedly at your passenger, but there's no harm in glancing at them occasionally during a conversation. It's only like checking your mirrors or instrument cluster, after all. People increasingly seem to think that drivers should glare at the road ahead at all times, never ever looking anywhere else ever.

 

[mog35]

The big question all the ex-pats ask is...............how can the Spanish talk so fast and walk so bloody slow

I've wondered this sometimes too. Part of my job is taking foreign students on a guided walk around the principle sights in Westminster. Normally this takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but it has taken up to four hours before with Spanish and Italian groups. Lovely people, but I wish they'd get a move on! It wouldn't be so bad but they later complain that they didn't have a lot of time to go shopping... whose fault is that, than?!