Line #42 Main/BackseatDriver


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5	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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14	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/CarOfTomorrow https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/backseat_driver.jpg]]]]
15	[[caption-width-right:350:A [[LiteralMetaphor literal version]] of the old phrase.]]
16
17	When a passenger gives [[UnwantedAssistance constant advice]] or [[ControlFreak orders]] to the person behind the wheel. The HenpeckedHusband's wife or mother-in-law will do this a LOT. The LogicalExtreme is a passenger who actually grabs for car controls (usually the wheel). In RealLife, there ''are'' legal consequences for this.[[note]]Usually, the person who grabs the controls assumes responsibility for the vehicle, which means they are to blame if the vehicle crashes, but have not broken the law if they take over from a suddenly incapacitated driver.[[/note]]
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19	The role can occasionally be played by the GuyInBack, reminding the AcePilot not to burn up all of their fuel, or warning him of enemies coming up on their six. Of course, this is ''part of his job'', but too much implies a lack of trust between them, or a certain [[NewMeat fresh inexperienced quality]] about the guy in back.
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22	!!Examples
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* Yusei constantly gives this to Crow in ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', showing a BigBrotherInstinct attitude and knowing he has more experience Turbo Dueling.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* In ''ComicBook/Robin1993'', Tim Drake has to grab the wheel and shove Ives' foot off the gas pedal after Drury Walker tries to carjack Ives and Ives goes into shock and floors it. Ives only comes back to himself sometime after Tim has the car parked. Tim was doing some lighthearted backseat driving before the attempted carjacking as Ives was driving incredibly slowly in an effort to protect his mom's car.
32	* A severely injured and distressed Dwight [=McCarthy=] becomes one in the ''ComicBook/SinCity'' story ''A Dame To Kill For''. Subverted in that Marv, the driver, takes his advice.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Fan Works]]
36	* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': In "The Car," Penny's mom gives her daughter continual running advice during the latter's disastrous first driving experience. Given how badly the girl does, it's more than justified. Mittens, who is stranded in the back seat, adds plenty of snark of her own.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
40	* ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar3EuropesMostWanted'':
41	-->'''Marty:''' Stop backseat driving!\
42	'''Alex:''' I'm ''passenger seat'' driving!
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
46	* In ''Film/BroadcastNews'', Jane gives specific, practically turn-by-turn directions to cabbies on a regular basis as part of her "need to be in control at all times"[[BuffySpeak -ness]].
47	* Quite literally in ''Film/CannonballRun'' 2 when two of the characters participating go in a car with a very visible driver seat that has a ''orangutan'' suppose chauffeuring them. Turns out they're really driving the car from the backseat.
48	* ''Film/DrivingMissDaisy'' - Daisy starts off like this because she is angry about needing a chauffeur.
49	* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' has the space ship variant where Creator/JeffGoldblum constantly shouts orders to Creator/WillSmith who tells him not to be a "side-seat driver".
50	* ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld'' - Milton Berle's character has his mother-in law (Ethel Merman) taking this role to heart in a race to buried treasure. She bellows "We're the ones in the ''Imperial'' and we're in ''last place?''" Later, she continues barking orders to different drivers in different vehicles.
51	* Comedy example: ''Film/TheNakedGun'' has Frank [[FlashedBadgeHijack entering a vehicle asking them to]] FollowThatCar... and it's a [[DrivingTestSmashers driving school car]].
52	* ''Film/PitchBlack'' gives us "co-pilot" Owens. For pretty much all of his screen time, all he does is heap demands on Fry, bitch when she tries to take any action, and generally be an unhelpful noisemaker during an emergency.
53	* A plane varient in ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'', where Polly and Joe argue on the best route through town during rush hour.
54	* In ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'', Spock and [=McCoy=] hijack one of [[BigBad Krall]]'s drone ships. [=McCoy=], who has some experience piloting one, grabs the controls that are slightly above the main compartment, while Spock is busy with the communications equipment in the forward area. As Spock continues to give [=McCoy=] advice, the Doctor exclaims, "Damn backseat driver!", causing Spock to shut up about the piloting.
55	* Serious example: ''Film/{{Taken}} 2'' has Bryan guiding his kidnapped daughter Kim by cellphone (in the car of her abductors) as he both checks the GPS on directions to the US Embassy and fires some shots into the air. Her responses regarding where the shots sound like they are coming from helps him to roughly triangulate her position.
56	* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': ''Loki'', of all people, is this to Thor:
57	-->'''Loki:''' Don't hit the buttons, press them gently.\
58	'''Thor:''' ''[hitting the buttons harder]'' I ''am'' pressing them gently!\
59	''[...]''\
60	'''Loki:''' Look, why don't you let ''me'' take over, I'm clearly the best pilot.\
61	'''Thor:''' Is that so? Of the two of us which one can actually fly?\
62	''[...]''\
63	'''Loki:''' Now they're following us. ''[shots]'' Now they're ''firing'' at us!\
64	'''Thor:''' Yes, ''thank you'' for the commentary, Loki! It's not at all distracting!
65	* Played with thrice in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'':
66	** Bond escapes the arms bazaar at the beginning by flying a fighter jet out, only to have a terrorist in the backseat try to strangle him. "Backseat driver" is literally the BondOneLiner when he ejects the bad guy!
67	** Needing a quick escape, Bond is forced to dive into the rear seat of his BMW and drive it from a cell phone screen. FridgeHorror ensues when one realizes, with the extent of the damage suffered to the BMW, Bond would be a dead man had he driven "properly" - and lampshaded with the soundtrack title.
68	** Later, both he and Wei Lin are handcuffed together and must jointly ride a motorcycle, complete with bickering.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Literature]]
72	* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': When Marco steals Cassie's dad's truck, Jake spends the entire trip yelling at him. [[DrivesLikeCrazy For good reason]].
73	--> '''Jake''': Do you hate trash cans? Is that it? Do you just '''''[[NotSoStoic HATE TRASH CANS?!!]]'''''\
74	'''Marco:''' I can't drive with you screaming in my ear.\
75	'''Jake:''' You can't drive at all!
76	* Rose Howard from ''Literature/RainReign'' corrects people who don't obey the traffic laws. She ends up getting kicked off the school bus because the driver doesn't use a directional, and Rose yells "Mrs. Ringwood, stop right now!" causing a minor traffic jam.
77	* Averted in ''Literature/TheSilkworm''. Protagonist Cormoran Strike lets his pretty assistant drive on the Motorway because of his prosthetic lower leg; when they encounter a dangerous collision close up, he tries to emergency-coach her. It turns out that [[HypercompetentSidekick Robin has taken advanced driving classes]] and handles the danger far better than he ever could have.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
81	* Happens all the time on ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' when teams are tasked with driving themselves. As a bonus, because of the way the camera crew positions themselves in the car, the non-driving teammate is always positioned directly behind the driver.
82	* ''Very'' prevalent and always {{Deconstructed}} in ''Series/CanadasWorstDriver''. At times, the ''nominator'' needs more rehab than the driver does.
83	* Perhaps the epitome of a HenpeckedHusband, Richard Bucket ([[PretentiousPronunciation pronounced "Bouquet"]]) suffers this from his wife in ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances''.
84	-->'''Hyacinth:''' Mind the pedestrian, Richard.\
85	'''Richard:''' ''(panicked and braking)'' Where?!\
86	'''Hyacinth:''' On the ''pavement'', Richard.
87	** As this is [[Creator/TheBBC a British]] show, "the pavement" means the ''sidewalk''.
88	** Hyacinth has also been known to reach over and honk the horn. At a ''policeman''.
89	* ''Series/RedDwarf'': In "Dimension Jump", when Kryten is flying ''Starbug'', Rimmer, who has seated himself next to him, insists on trying to boss him around and micromanage the flight. When it becomes clear that all the orders he is giving are unnecessary, Rimmer -- being Rimmer -- becomes annoyed at Kryten for being a ''front''seat driver.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Radio]]
93	* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Game At Clay City", Mr. Conklin appoints himself navigator and gives a steady stream of orders to Miss Brooks.
94	* A sketch on the British radio show ''Radio/WeekEnding'' featured the car itself as this. The Austin Maestro featured a voice synthesiser to issue warnings to the driver - a supposedly amazingly futuristic innovation which was universally derided by the public. The sketch portrayed the synthesiser as a BackseatDriver which continually nagged and hassled the driver, annoying and distracting him so much that he ended up wrecking the car.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
98	* ''TabletopGame/{{Gorkamorka}}'' has a skill called Backseat Driver. When a character with the skill is in a vehicle, the driver can use their stats instead of his own for some driving checks.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Video Games]]
102	* During the Sequence 9 mission A Bitter End in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', Haythan Kenway cridicizes Connor for the way he steers the Aquila and urges him to hurry up and catch up with Benjamin Church.
103	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony'' has Luis do jobs for various [=VIPs=] hanging around at the club. One of them is a drunken celebrity, Cloe Parker, who makes sexual advances on Luis by grabbing the wheel.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Webcomics]]
107	* ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'': In ch. 2, as a Loroi shuttle is trying to outrun Umiak torpedoes closing in on it, the pilot snaps a bit at the main character as he's asking questions while she's concentrating on piloting.
108	-->''This shuttle does not fly from the rear seat, enzin!''
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Western Animation]]
112	* In a Mother's Day episode of ''WesternAnimation/BobbysWorld'', Bobby is asked to come up at an amusement park to give a speech about what he loves about his mother. [[FromTheMouthsOfBabes He starts giving out a lot of personal information about his family]] including that his dad said she could drive a car from the backseat. She was not happy to hear about that.
113	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'', "[[Recap/DuckTalesS2E2SuperDuckTales Super [=DuckTales=]]]": When Launchpad is attempting to start the U.S.S. ''Jumpstart'', both Scrooge and [=GizmoDuck=] yell instructions at him from their chairs. Launchpad dismissively calls them "backseat astronauts."
114	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' episode "Spaced Out" proves this trope applies to spaceships as well.
115	* In an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', Mr Barkin is driving several students in the school's Driver's Ed car, who keep commenting on his driving.
116	--> ''Don't distract the driver!''
117	* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': Parodied/referenced in "Wise Raven and Old Crow." Tooey is feeding milk to Bonky the baby moose, and Trini keeps telling him what to do without actually doing anything herself. Tooey tells her to quit "backseat milking."
118	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "King's Tide", Hunter keeps walking around Alador while he's flying the airship and messing with the controls, insinuating he may be able to get them to the Head faster if ''he'' took the wheel. This sparks a loud argument between the two, quickly escalating when Gus and Amity start yelling as well. Their Palismen calm everyone down by offering them food, and after Hunter has eaten, Alador lets him take the helm so he can eat something himself.
119	* In the ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' episode, "The Big Question", while chasing down a motorcycle, Rocko is given this treatment by Heffer, Filburt and a third unknown person outside of Rocko's driver window. Rocko tells Heffer and Filburt "if you don't like the way I'm driving, then drive yourself"; so they do.
120	* Done quite literally in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'' episode "That's Snow Ghost", while being chased by the titular Snow Ghost, Scooby and Shaggy jump in a snowmobile with Shaggy driving and Scoob behind him. Seeing the Snow Ghost gaining on them, Scooby reaches over Shaggy's shoulder to take the wheel.
121	-->'''Shaggy: '''[[LampshadeHanging Scooby! This is no time to be a backseat driver!]]
122	* Lisa Simpson of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' sometimes acts like this. For example, from "Homer the Heretic"...
123	-->'''Lisa:''' Give it a little more gas. No, no, that's too much. You know what I think would help?\
124	'''Marge:''' WHAT!? ''WHAT'' WOULD HELP!?\
125	'''Lisa:''' ...Nothing.
126	* Master Splinter became quite a backseat driver in the 2003 ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\|2003}}'' series, regularly commenting on the driver's actions.
127	* The Creator/TexAvery cartoon "WesternAnimation/CarOfTomorrow" features a car (currently the page image) specifically built for Backseat Drivers... with the steering wheel and controls literally in the backseat!
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Real Life]]
131	* {{Implied\|Trope}} -- some vehicles, notably the Toyota Yaris, have the instrument cluster mounted in the center of the dashboard, between the driver and front passenger. While there's no proof that any manufacturer's implementation of this design is to explicitly support backseat drivers (though it does simplify manufacturing left and right hand drive models), there's no proof that it ''isn't'' either.
132	* The valid case of the trope is a driving instructor to assist new drivers. Their vehicles are equipped with passenger-side controls in case the inexperienced driver is about to make a collision. Similarly, many airplanes are designed with this trope in mind, with two sets of pilot controls so that the crew can divide the work of flying the aircraft between them, or to aid in instruction of newer pilots. In the case of tandem-seat aircraft, the GuyInBack can literally be a BackSeatDriver if he takes the controls from the guy in front.
133	** And some types of attack helicopters, such as the AH-64 Apache, are designed so the pilot sits in the back seat (elevated so he can see over the top of his Guy In Front), leaving the Gunner up front with an unobstructed view [[DeathFromAbove of his targets.]]
134	** Another valid version is a backseat (or passenger seat) ''navigator'' who handles the map/directions and cues the driver to upcoming turns and exits so the driver can focus on the immediate surroundings.
135	* A [[TankGoodness tank]] is typically arranged with the commander in the turret, and the driver in the hull in front of the turret. The commander, of course, determines where the tank should be driven to. And before intercoms, communication was maintained by kicking the driver's shoulders.
136	** A MundaneMadeAwesome crossover of a wife doing backseat driving, and a tank, was the BattleCouple of Ivan and Aleksandra Boiko, of the [[RedsWithRockets 48th separate Guards heavy tank regiment]].
137	* [[LiteralMetaphor In a very literal form of this trope]], cars like the page image ''did'' exist early on in automotive history, such as the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woods_spider_8.jpg Woods Spider]] and the [[http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/smithsonian-automobile-collection/first-attempts-in-america Dudgeon Steam Wagon]] (look where the controls are).
138	* A twist on this idea is "backseat gaming", which tends to crop up in livestreams and LetsPlay videos, and involves giving unsolicited advice or directions to the player (or more severely, ordering them around). While everyone has their own thresholds, the general rule of thumb is that you should only offer help if the player specifically asks for it; otherwise you're just going to piss off the player, and more than likely incur the wrath of the moderators.
139	* Have you dreamed you were the backseat driver? Relax. It's a very, very common recurring dream. There are many folk explanations for this dream, but none have yet earned scientific validation, so take any explanation or interpretation with a grain of salt.
140	* Many two-seat aircraft (including biplanes and fighter jets) often have the cockpit controls on the second seat.
141	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BackseatDriver