Lifestyle

The 7 things that are too recognizable when you are the designated driver

By Bo Geschiere | #!31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:000331#31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:00-8Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam202331 08am31am-31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:008Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam2023312023Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200008007amSaturday=9#!31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam7#07-08-2023#!31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:000331#/31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:00-8Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam202331#!31Sat, 08 Jul 2023 08:00:03 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam7#

blonde woman looking surprised in the car

Call it an unpopular opinion, but I actually think being the designated driver is quite okay. I am a structure junkie, so if I get out of bed at seven in the morning during the week, I prefer to do the same on the weekend. I find it wonderful: waking up fresh to then fully enjoy my Sunday. A wasted useless day just feels like a shame, especially on the weekend when I want to do as much as possible. And that becomes quite difficult when you can't get out of bed due to a hellish headache. Just let me play the driver. Do you also volunteer to be the designated driver a bit too often? Then the points below will definitely sound familiar to you.

1. You are terrified that someone will throw up in the car
All evening you try to encourage your friends to drink a bottle of water in between, because you can already see it happening that the next morning you will be scraping vomit off the entire back seat. They just don’t listen.

2. You are quickly found ‘pathetic’
I can always laugh about this. You run into acquaintances, and as soon as they see you standing there with a bottle of water in your hands, it’s just a matter of counting down to the question: ‘Are you having fun?’ Yes-ha. Not everyone needs alcohol to have a good time.

3. The return trip is hell
One person needs to pee for the second time at a gas station, another turns pale, and the rest has long departed to dreamland. The drive home is always a bit of a dismal affair.

4. You are the mom of the group
Yet you feel responsible for everyone every time. Before you know it, you lose track of each other, all phones are dead, and you will be blamed for driving off after searching for an hour. Annoying.

5. You control the music
It's fine that everyone benefits from you as the taxi driver, but one thing is for sure: you decide which songs are played in the car. And no one has a say in that.

6. You decide when you all go home
I find this a bit of an unwritten rule. When the designated driver is done, it’s customary for everyone to just respect that. Otherwise, you should have driven yourself. It’s that simple.

7. You are not shocked when you check your bank balance a day later
Because either 1: someone pays for you or 2: only water is ordered. This way, I can keep my shopping addiction a bit in check. I’m not completely perfect either.

Image: Netflix