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How much space do you keep in between other drivers and yourself?


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I'd have more sympathy for your position if auto drivers didn't seem to think they owned the road, margins, turn lanes and basically anything else that isn't a building.

Shared space doesn't mean "shared with other auto drivers only."


You can optimise to leave slightly more space on the driver's side, and it also grants more space to your neighbour driver

Depends on the driver.

Even if the drivers/users ratio is constant, raw #drivers does matter, given a fixed amount of space. As you get more drivers in the same amount of space, the minimum average distance from a user to a driver decreases.

I always sit in the front, it never occurred to me that this might be annoying for the driver. Is it?

When I've driven people around, even people I've barely met (say friends-of-friends), I've always preferred that they sit in the front. I was never a pro driver though.


Just keeping good distance isn't guaranteed to save you from other drivers. See e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X-5fKzmy38

No more or less than the back of a bus I imagine. People seem to prefer windows there while being driven, and I don't suspect removing the driver changes that.

I mean, you're trapped in a confined space with the driver. The same is not true with cashiers, receptionists, or janitors. That is why it feels different. "This is awkward, I'm out," doesn't work at 60mph on the freeway.

For sure. As a driver, one of my main inputs is the other drivers overall driving behaviour that I'm aware of.

A good indicator of their next move is their previous move.


I've had my share of back-seat drivers.

I feel like I get cut off sometimes multiple times per journey, while I only cut off somebody perhaps once a month, if even that often.

Everyone else is a terrible driver!


Drivers are people, my friend

But...the other drivers on the road?

How often do you see your driver directly? I see them frequently because I'm often outside.

How do you "peer pressure" another driver?

Drivers do.

Ah, yeah that's a great point. Definitely don't think they're taking advantage of all the possible space. I feel like drivers have a bit of a thankless job. I definitely appreciate them more after learning this kind of stuff.

Great point. So much of our daily driving relies on the exchange of subtle social cues with other drivers.

Drivers are also human beings.
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