After landing at LaGuardia Airport, you disembark the plane and gather your luggage. Having never been to New York, you use Uber to get to your hotel instead of renting a car. Five minutes after activating your app, the driver arrives and helps stow your luggage. Tired from a long day of travel, you climb into the front passenger seat and put on your seatbelt. The driver turns onto I-278 West, reaching speeds of 75 mph. You are zoned out but trying to make casual conversation with the driver. Panic strikes as the vehicle goes barreling toward the Jersey barriers separating east and westbound traffic. You stare in absolute horror at your incapacitated driver!

The vehicle veers toward the side of the road as you franticly try to reach for the steering wheel and pedals. Of course, your belt is on, and you can’t reach them. The vehicle slams into another car, and you bounce off it, striking a Jersey barrier. The airbags go off, and the car fills with smoke, making it difficult to see the roadway. You come to rest with the sound of cars slamming on their brakes all around you to avoid striking you from behind.

Defensive Driving

How can we prevent this from happening to us? First and foremost, by changing our way of thinking. 

You are no longer a “passenger” inside a vehicle. You are an active participant inside that car, and you have a responsibility to everyone inside.

to better and more quickly process information and execute the above techniques.

Adapt Your Mindset

Changing your mindset is a form of preparation, not paranoia.  

After changing your “I’m only a passenger” approach, we work toward adjusting your physical positioning inside the vehicle. You need to establish a good working base. Place your outside foot onto the bottom of the pillar near the floorboard. This position creates a stable platform, allowing you to move into the driver’s seat if necessary in case of an incapacitated driver.

Second, I would like you to think about the number-one priority in this situation: getting control of the steering wheel as soon as possible. If the driver goes down, reach over from the passenger seat and grab the steering wheel to avoid striking another car, going off the roadway, or slamming into a barrier. 

Third, could you know how your seatbelt works? Does it release from the side, the top, or elsewhere? Unfastening your seatbelt is critical for accessing the steering wheel, brake, and gas pedals, especially when dealing with an incapacitated driver.

Take Control

After controlling the steering wheel, index your right hand high on the chest strap of the seatbelt.  

Run your hand down to the buckle and hit the release. Use that outside foot to push off the pillar to move into the driver’s seat. Subsequently, you may have to climb over a center console. Do not use the steering wheel to pull yourself over. This may cause the vehicle to swerve dangerously.

Finally, use your inside foot (left foot) to push high on the driver’s leg(s) to move them away from the brake and gas pedals. After clearing his legs and feet, apply the gas or brake, whichever is necessary. If the driver’s feet are too difficult to move, put the vehicle into neutral. 

Being a passenger in a vehicle with an incapacitated driver can be tense and uncertain. Such an occurrence may manifest rapidly. Keeping calm during such an event will help you to better and more quickly process information and execute the above techniques.