Do you take fewer risks driving if other people are in the car?

I drive safely no matter what.. mostly because I’m not in a hurry..

I always chuckle (and then worry about) those who speed by me as if they are on their way to the hospital and are bleeding out. I tend to wonder if I’ll see a picture of their vehicle on the news.

My driving pattern never changes with or without passengers.

The only problem I have ever had with driving was the use of the seatbelt. Yeah, I know, big cop should know better. But, there are validated reasons why we did not. Wearing a 32 pound uniform is really difficult behind the wheel and the seatbelt interferes with our gunbelt.and the availability to reach our weapon, inside the vehicle, if an assault occurs on us, while sitting in the seat. And, very often we have to leave the car in a big hurry to chase someone.

This is why I never wrote a single driver a seatbelt violation citation.

@john65pennington Do you insist your passengers wear a seatbelt? Obviously not when you are on duty with another officer, I mean the average passenger? What about when you are not in uniform off duty? Then do you wear your seat belt?

I once did a doubletake when my twin nephews were strapped into their car seats behind me. I was very conscious of driving safely because they were there.

No, which is why I don’t like people in my car. Driving normally is boring. You have to go slower, which sucks, especially when annoying drunk people are in the car.

Everybody wears a seat belt when I drive, and little kids are in car seats or in the back seat. I tend to drive slower when I have company and cuss less at the idiot hogging the fast lane.

No. I might be a little more distracted if engaged in conversation and likely will miss a turn on occasion. lol
Safety wise, no. I’m not a reckless driver, I’m aggressive, but not reckless.
Hesitation kills. :-)

Yes. I am pretty safe as it is. But if someone else is with me, I am more cautious. No one has ever complained to me about my driving. I am more cautious because I am responsible for the people in my vehicle.

I try to drive safely all the time. But, honestly .. when I have my 2½ year old grandson in the car, I do drive extra carefully. It just seems like the right thing to do for HIM.

Well, a good reminder that we never really know what’s going on in anothers car. Jeez, I have had a goose get loose from a laundry basket while driving her to the vet and you have never been challenged like this with a goose flapping around the front seat. lol
I have also been rushing to get my dog to the vet in two different emergencies over the years, and once, I was transporting an injured bat to our local bat rehabber when it got out of the box and was clinging to the visor in my car.

Then there was the time my girlfriend and I were transporting her 100 lb. goat “Gaylord” to a specialty clinic 50 miles away to treat his goat goiter. lol
You shoulda seen the looks on people faces going down the freeway with a giant goat hanging his head out of the back window of a Lexus. hahaha

Be aware that there are Colomas on the road with god knows what is in their car. lol

Jleslie, yes maam, I wear my seatbelt all the time. My Toyota Solara’s bell will drive you crazy until you fasten it.

Did any of my answer make any sense to you and why most do not wear seatbelts?

No, that would be like shopping naked if there were fewer kids in the store….tempting but ultimately unwise.

One nice thing about the cars I prefer is that a passenger affects the performance enough that risky driving is impossible unless I am solo. To give you an idea of the difference, a modern car would have to carry three adults and a couple of cinder blocks to feel the same effects on acceleration, braking, and handling that I do with a single 180-pound passenger. Between the engine that is barely more than half the HP of a modern fuel-injected one and the 9-inch solid discs in the front which take an additional 30–50 feet to bring it from 60–0 compared to anything made in the last two decades, I can’t get too uppity anyways, except with the steering wheel (the only thing that allows for any real Delta-V), and that goes double when loaded.

Aside from the adjustments necessary due to increasing the weight of my car by 10%, I don’t drive any differently though. This sometimes annoys (or scares) passengers, but only those who are not used to riding with me. I know what my car is capable of and do things that appear more dangerous than they are; things like driving in the snow, or follow the car in front of me closely enough that you cannot park an 18-wheeler and a schoolbus between us (Seattle drivers like to leave a lot more space than East Coast drivers).

I drive aggressively but never with anyone in the car, even when I was a teenager. And I never tailgate. And the closest I came to getting killed was by someone else when I had a passenger. Figure that out.

Yes, it definitely makes a difference. It may be because you’re bored when you’re alone, and just want to reach the destination!

Yes because I’m responsible for their safety as well. I also believe that I would have a difficult time living on and knowing that something that I did out of irresponsibility caused death or great injury to another person.