Do you agree it's impolite to insist on driving your own car when visiting someone?

Question

I have this thing, that when I go to visit people, I just leave me car and let them drive me around in theirs, because it's their town, and I'm their guest, and I expect when people come to visit me, they will leave their own car, and we will drive my car, because it's my town, and they are my guest.

However, I have had issues with many people coming to visit me and insisting on driving us around in their car, and it makes me very angry!! But they don't seem to understand this is an impolite thing.

Maybe it's because I live in the mountains, and so most people really don't know how to drive mountain roads so it's a safety thing.

But I think it goes beyond that.

Answer 1

Your rules are not everyone else's rules.  I do not agree that everyone thinks it's impolite to do what you say.  Maybe that's their preference for other reasons.  Now with the price of gas, perhaps it is impolite to assume the host should shuffle the guests around town.  For example, when I visited my aunt, we drove my rented car instead of her new car, because I didn't want to use her assets, when we could use mine.

Sorry, I don't agree that the driving guests know they are being inpolite.  If you absolutely want it your way, you can easily make the point when you agree to give them an overnight room, hey if we go anywhere, I'm driving or you can go get a hotel somewhere else.  Otherwise, just go with the flow and enjoy your guests as much as possible.

Answer 2

I've never thought of it in this way ~ polite/impolite.

I'd save petrol money if they drove their car.

It definitely wouldn't make me angry if they insisted on driving their car. Maybe you just need to chill a bit, maybe they feel that as you are providing the hospitality by letting them stay in your home, that this (driving their car) maybe is a little way in which they are repaying you a kindness in letting them stay in your home ~ maybe they feel this is the polite thing to do.

Answer 3

There's nothing impolite about offering to drive.  I've never heard of there being a rule on who drives.  I think you need to chill out.  Be happy it's not your gas and maybe they want to learn the area better.  What sort of advance mountain drivers training have you undertaken?  Get over yourself.

Answer 4

You really got me thinking about this one.  I never thought of it as polite vs impolite.  I agree that the host probably wants to drive the guest around, as a way of further extending their hospitality.

One drawback of letting some hosts drive you around the area, is that you not only get the scenic and historic tour, but you can also get the boring personal anecdotes - "That's where I used to cash my check when I had my first job",  "I wonder if ol'Granpa Smith is still sitting in front of the news stand.  Let's swing by and see" - stuff like that.  It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens!

Anyway, I'm going to ask a few other people how they feel about it, since I'm one of those who prefers to drive my own car when visiting.  Maybe I'm insulting people without realizing it.

Answer 5

I think more goes into account that what you have said.

When we travel we ALWAYS drive our car around, simply because it is where our carseat is installed. Since their car doesn't have a seat this is imply how it plays out. Sometimes we let them drive though, depending on who it is.

Also perhaps many people feel it IS the polite thing to do since you are already showing them around, taking them in, etc. They may feel that the least they could do is put the miles on their car and burn their gas. Also you tend to learn an area better when driving then when riding, and maybe they'd prefer to have a better knowledge of how to get around.