We all know the stereotypes: Husbands riding in the front of the vehicle while the wives are riding in the back. I call this the “bridge club arrangement” (two/two setup).

The Bridge Club arrangement is fine if you observe some ground rules:

1. for much of the travel, conversation should be geared for all four adults to participate in and voice volume should be adjusted so all four individuals can easily hear what everyone else is saying and,
2. an individual starting a conversation thread should be reasonably certain that there is enough time to finish the topic before reaching the destination.
   

I have been in the front and the back seat of vehicles where I could not possibly hear the person carrying on the conversation over street noise, loud radio or the speaker directing their voice into the front windshield. You communicate with humans, not glass windshields.

When you are conversing in a vehicle, it is your responsibility to be sure that everyone in the car can easily hear and understand what you are saying. Please do not make husbands (or wives) work to hear and understand you…they will quickly lose interest in what you say and think you do not care about them participating in the conversation.

Mike McCann