Good Passenger?

[mik]

Following comments in Mad Pete’s 600LT thread but not wanting to take that off-topic : are you a good passenger in a car driven at speed?

Hard to resist a P-ride in something interesting, but I generally spend the drive attempting to re-model the passenger footwell as I search for the imaginary brake pedal. It’s not a trust thing (I wouldn’t get in a quick car unless I respected the ability of the driver) so I think it’s partly a control thing, and mostly cos I can’t feel what is coming back through the steering, or how the car is reacting to driver inputs in general - therefore my mind occasionally tells me we don’t have the grip to what is being asked.

[dinny_g]

Used to be but not so much any more

[JonMad]

I'm probably a much better passenger these days going sideways at slow speeds than I would be in someone's car on a track day.

With my wife driving it's more a case of pressing the imaginary accelerator than an imaginary brake.

[240PP]

I’ve never been a passenger on track or any kind of high speed run. I actually don’t think I’d enjoy it!

I’m a very calm passenger on road though.

[16vCento]

I'm calm as long as I know the driver, I don't mind been chucked through foggy forests sideways on gravel, as long as its with Tim or Bob, don't think I'd trust anyone else unless they're a pro tbh with that.

Don't mind on road as long as people don't take the absolute piss with blind overtakes etcs, and have been passenger on track and was OK with it.

I think it feels weird if you've not been in the car before and have no reference of grip levels etcs.

[scotta]

I'm Generally ok as a passenger. Ive done a bit of instruction round knockhill for novice track dayers which has been fine.

I did take a marshall for a few laps in the S1 and he totally lost it when i went a bit sideways at the hairpin (on-purpose) after that he was done and i took him back in to the pits. Mrs A refuses point blank to passenger with me on track. My eldest lad enjoys it. I give full 10/10th with him in the car...as i have with @mik passengering.

Scream if you wanna go faster...

ETA - just remembered with a smile when i took my sadly late mate Gino round Knockhill. Bit sideways out of mackintyres and kicked up bit of gravel. He grabbed my leg in panic

[Mito Man]

A car driven at speed by a good driver - yes, I'm all for it. Love it.

A car driven at any speed by the odd mate who is utter crap or on the odd occasion I've been in the 80 year old family accountants car is more an exercise in getting to the destination unscathed whilst not instinctively kicking the life out of the passenger footwell so as to appear rude as I reach for the imaginary brake pedal

[Beany]

I used to be OK for it with people who I knew (For EG Matt with his E30 - sideways all over Elvington, no problem - I don't 'know' Matt and I think that was the first time I'd met him but I trusted him not to be a dick in the car ) but I think now I'm a bit older, a bit fatter, and with my anxiety being flaky, I'd probably not enjoy it any more.

[Carlos]

I don't think I'd enjoy it anymore but in my teens and 20's would often go on the back of big bikes with my lunatic best mate.

The worst one was in 97 on a GSXR750 one of the very first SRAD models. I was a big lad even then and pulling onto a long uphill slip road he opened it in the first 3 gears and up it came, the look of the passengers on a bus we passed on the inside as we were still on the slip road was terrifying. I never went on a bike with him again.

[Beany]

Oh, definitely don't do passengering with a hangover.

Had a very uncomfortable ride around in Nebs Teg at Anglesey after we'd camped out and gone through quite a lot of....I want to say San Miguel, but it might have been Corona.

Feeling my morning coffee sloshing around my guts wasn't a fun experience. Perked up later, but as I recall, someone had a blackout on track and went full speed, no brakes into the barriers at the end. My memory is flaky but I think possibly father and son, father blacked out - not a nice thing to have happen.

It was a long time ago mind - my memory isn't what it used to be, and it's hard to find corroborating reports on the internet given I can't even remember what year it was....

[Jimmy Choo]

It depends. If someone is an active participant in the process of driving, is decisive and in control of the vehicle, I'm happy to be a passenger.

I still refuse to get in a car driven by one friend. ExWife2 is a shitty driver (not an opinion she shares) and I never liked being driven by her.

[dan]

I'm a terrible passenger and usually never get in the car with anyone as they're usually trying to impress me. The very few times I have its usually ended in tears, like the plonker that put his 968 in the gravel at oulton after I said I was interested in seeing what it was like. Turns out it was shit.

[speedingfine]

I'm a terrible passenger because most people are terrible drivers tbh! Of If I can tell someone knows what they're doing I usually calm down pretty rapidly. However this would probably not apply Harry flatters in a McLaren at the Nurburgring

[DeskJockey]

Shouldn't you ask the driver that question? I think I was a good passenger when @Nefarious took me for a spin round Surrey in the Westie (apart from ruining the P/W ratio obviously).

[duncs500]

With fast driving I'm fine with it generally, but then I can't think of the last time I got in a car with someone I didn't know quite well and knew was sensible TBH.

I did have one of my NGC mates screaming uncontrollably under braking when I took him out in the Exige once, which was weird because I was probably around 5/10ths of what it could do. I think fast cars make him nervous, he was too scared to even sit in the Caterham when stationary.

I'm pretty nervous with the wife driving, but that's just because she's inexperienced.

[Nefarious]

Shouldn't you ask the driver that question? I think I was a good passenger when @Nefarious took me for a spin round Surrey in the Westie (apart from ruining the P/W ratio obviously).

My god, that's a blast from the past! What would that have been? 2008? 2009? Impeccable passenger behaviour from what I can recall IIRC it was quite a bit step up in performance from what you'd experienced before, but we chose our moment quite badly from a traffic point of view, and it was a bit point-and-squirt rather than lots of high-gs and sideways action.

I put down for being an awful passenger. As Dan says, it's people trying to show off. I've done a bit of instructing/tuition at KH too, and the first thing I always say is that we're looking for precision, accuracy and control, not speed - it rarely helps though!

I once had a passenger get scared when we had a little bit of oversteer on a snowy and icey downhill bend (just normal driving, rather than anything fast). He decided that the best course of action was to yank on the handbrake for me. It was the last time I gave him a lift.

[DeskJockey]

Not quite that far back, 2011 I think as we didn't move to London until August 2010, and I came from the office in Victoria (the business moved in 2012).

Edit: one of the standout memories was how hot my feet got from the heat soak. And that I'd forgot my sunglasses so spent most of the trip squinting.

[mik]

This discussion is reminding me (in a good way) of my first p-ride in @Nefarious ’s Westie. Along the A93 between Glenshee and Braemar. I was impressed but not surprised by the acceleration and agility, but the braking ability did blow me away a bit, stepping from an 1800kg VXR8 that took a lot of stopping.

Thoroughly enjoyed another road p-ride some time later.

Politely declined a third road p-ride some time more later. It was a bit damp.

“Ok, no problem” said Nef.

<pause>

“I guess you’ve experienced being a bit wet and a bit scared previously eh?”

<nods>

I didn’t hesitate to then jump in it at Knockhill some time some time some time later mind….. a particular highlight being a well driven widow-maker 996 GT2 which absolutely horsed off on the straight, but was easily (for me as ballast at least ) reeled in on the brakes over the rest of the lap….

[Coaster1]

Yep. Sign me up.

Been in some interesting cars and with excellent drivers over the years. It’s always a learning experience.

[scotta]

Shouldn't you ask the driver that question? I think I was a good passenger when @Nefarious took me for a spin round Surrey in the Westie (apart from ruining the P/W ratio obviously).

My god, that's a blast from the past! What would that have been? 2008? 2009? Impeccable passenger behaviour from what I can recall IIRC it was quite a bit step up in performance from what you'd experienced before, but we chose our moment quite badly from a traffic point of view, and it was a bit point-and-squirt rather than lots of high-gs and sideways action.

I put down for being an awful passenger. As Dan says, it's people trying to show off. I've done a bit of instructing/tuition at KH too, and the first thing I always say is that we're looking for precision, accuracy and control, not speed - it rarely helps though!

I once had a passenger get scared when we had a little bit of oversteer on a snowy and icey downhill bend (just normal driving, rather than anything fast). He decided that the best course of action was to yank on the handbrake for me. It was the last time I gave him a lift.

I put down i was an ok passenger...but just remembered about the trailer incident