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Notes -
I agree that may be a factor, but there's pretty clearly more in play.
For one thing, back-seat driving is not necessarily limited to safety related issues. For example, I might be driving and see a sign saying my exit is 2 miles away. So I get in the right lane, and otherwise continue driving. Next I see a sign which says the turn-off is 1/2 mile away. I put on my turn signal. Finally there is a sign that the exit is a quarter mile away. At this point, my mother or whoever looks up, notices the sign, and says "Here's our exit!" At that point, I give the same speech I've given many times before: "I know how to read English; I am well aware of this; it's annoying and distracting when you point out obvious things; and if for some reason we miss our exit, it's not a big deal. If you see something which is truly a matter of life and death, feel free to speak up, but otherwise I would appreciate it if you would just let me drive."
Anyway, FWIW I am a much more cautious driver than my ex-wife. For example, I always leave plenty of room between me and the car ahead of me, to the point where people behind me sometimes honk, urging me to close the gap. And I never go more than a few miles an hour over the speed limit. And yet she still would regularly back-seat drive. By contrast, I hardly ever back-seat drove.
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