Are airplane pilots good drivers (car, truck) on the road?

Question

Are airplane pilots good drivers (car, truck) on the road?

Answer 1

That could be the dumbest question ever.  It is an apples to oranges question.  No connection.

Answer 2

There's virtually no correlation between these different types of driving.  There are a few correlations between personality traits and safe operation of vehicles, but the environments among vehicles are so different that the traits that make a difference for one may not be important for others.  For example, being cool in an emergency is useful for operation of vehicles that can experience protracted emergencies, such as aircraft, ships at sea, and so on, but this is less useful for cars or trucks, since emergencies in cars or trucks often last for only a few seconds, and either terminate with no ill effects or cause a crash.

Some people also approach different vehicles in different ways, and a person who might take great pains to operate one type of vehicle safely might be careless with another type.  A pilot might be a paragon of safety in the cockpit, but might take stupid risks when riding a bicycle or motorcycle.  It all depends.

Answer 3

I can NOT see how anyone would have a "true" answer to this question.  How would anyone know whether Pilots aqre good or bad drivers???   No one knows.

Answer 4

I fly and don't have a drivers lisence. There are a few like me too that I know off. So the answer to your question, not necessarily

Answer 5

Yes, but only because we drink after we fly, but before we drive...

Answer 6

I will generalize and say that the majority of the pilots I know are excellent drivers.

They have highly developed hand to eye coordination, rapid reaction times, and the ability to multi-task and process the information quickly.

Many of them also race(d) cars or motorcycles in their youths. The skills are very similar.

Answer 7

I have to be honest. In general, I'm a good driver; never had an accident that was my fault and haven't had a ticket since I was a teenager. That being said though, although I consider myself a safe driver, I am probably at my worst right after a flight. I think I get used to sitting there and not having to constantly look where I am going all the time. Sure, I see and avoid aircraft traffic, but let's face it, you don't have to steer all the time (particularly when the AP is engaged), and I'm not always looking out the windshield; I sit and enjoy the scenery a lot more when I'm flying. So, sometimes after a long flight, I get a little sloppy in my driving reverting back to flight mode.

Answer 8

Are pilots good drivers? hahahahahahaha. Most of us aren't even good pilots. hahahahahahahaha. I love this place.

Answer 9

I cant speak for everyone but I became a bad driver after getting a commercial license. I get bored driving and then loose concentration. I now regularly drive 170 in 120 speed limits as well. Its partly because I know how quick I can get from A-B and the rest is because driving is 2 dimensional

Answer 10

Yes.. everyone thinks they are a great driver..

I do notice that i tend to drive a lost faster after flying..

Answer 11

Pilots are probably better car drivers for the same reason

motorcyclists are better car drivers.  Both plan ahead more, operate their machines more defensively and have a better sense of concentration.  In both instances, mistakes will often kill you while car drivers operate under a more flexible set of circumstances.

Answer 12

I think airplane pilots are more attuned to any machine they operate, than the average motorist. A surprising number of motorists don't even know whether it's the front or rear wheels, or all wheels, of their vehicle that provide the drive power. Pilots generally want to know how any machine they control works, and that tends to make them more prepared to handle mechanical problems, and marginal control situations.

I do think that airplane pilots can have the same "mental lags" that get so many motorists into accidents. Particularly after a flight where a pilot's workload has been high (IFR weather, difficult approach, bad landing conditions), I think there is a "glad to have that over" feeling that carries over into driving home from the airport. But the weather that made your cockpit workload high, is also capable of getting you in trouble as a driver. So, I've known pilots that landed in marginal conditions, looked out at the parking lot, and plopped down in a lounge chair for a nap until conditions improved, rather than drive home.

Answer 13

Everyone is different.  I know cops who scare the h**l out of me when they drive.  They go through driving courses