The passenger isn't driving the car, the driver is. I'm hopping in a rental car tomorrow to drive the 820 km or so to Ottawa tomorrow morning. The plain fact is that I like to drive fast, and I don't like to spend more time in the car than I have to. Sure it's anecdotal, but I bet there's a bunch of other people that feel the same way. Just think Good suggestion.
Alcohol affects a person's judgement and on top of that lowers the ability to drive a car.
Food for thought. I had a thought on the way home today about the accident. The bodies are not accelerating when they hit the bodyguard. There are very few cars that could perform as well in as severe an impact, certainly none from Japan. Ah, Ryan the autobahn guru and now safety guru as well.