There are only a few ways to increase how much we make from rideshare driving.
- First is ride selection, we can pick the rides that pay us the higher earnings per hour of our time.
- Second is bonuses, we can drive at the times of the day when substantial bonuses are earned.
- Third is tips, if we can provide an excellent service, we will get tips that are 100% ours and can dramatically increase our daily revenue take.
One other thing which impacts tips is your ability to drive in difficult situations, add there are many different driving situations we come upon throughout the day.
In this article, I will share six different driving situations and how you can handle them so that your passenger may respond with a generous tip in appreciation.
Background
As of today, I have completed 29,241 trips.
I have seen it all. I have done it all. But I have not learned it all. Every day on the road teaches me more and more about how to be a better driver.
Still, there are a few things I have learned that I can share with you today, which can help you to increase your revenue in the form of tips from appreciative passengers.
How To Handle Driving Difficult Situations
- Driving In The Rain
- Freeway Driving
- Speed Bumps
- School Pickups
- Grocery Store Pick Ups
- Gated Communities
1. Driving In The Rain 
Nothing will upset your passenger more than feeling your car slide or spin out in the rain, it’s an amateur move.
When driving in the rain, you have got to slow down. It always amazes me to see people driving full speed on wet pavement.
When it rains, I notice there are more accidents on the road. Amateur drivers driving fast, needing to turn or slow down, skidding, hitting guard rails, or even worse, another car.
When it rains, I like to imagine I am driving a boat. Boats take longer to gain momentum. You have to start nice and slow. Similarly, when you need to slow down, you must plan ahead.
Start to slow down early to give your car the time it needs so you don’t skid hard into the car in front of you.
When it comes to rain and wet pavement, imagine you are driving a boat. Slow and easy, anticipate every move early.
2. Freeway Driving 
First, get to the far left-hand lane.
I merge over and set my speed at 80 miles per hour. This speed is over the speed limit in California, but not enough to get a ticket. The reason I get into the far left lane is it is, by far, the safest lane.
In the far left lane, I don’t need to worry about cars on both sides of my car. Instead, I only have to be concerned with cars to my right. It is the fast lane and the safe lane.
My second rule is that when I am one mile from my exit, I must merge to the right. One mile is the perfect distance to merge to the right and make my exit safely.
3. Speed Bumps
It has taken me a long time to be at peace with speed bumps. I have seen signs calling them speed bumps, humps, tables, and undulations.
As someone who likes to be quick about what I do in my car, speed bumps always seemed like a nuisance.
I would drive fast, hit my brakes, go over the bump, and then speed back up, only to repeat this process several times.
I have had to learn to ratchet down my driving in the land of speed bumps. Why? Several reasons.
First, hitting a speed bump fast is not good for my car.
Second, if I have a passenger in my car, the jarring bump indicates that I am an amateur and drive too fast. This can wipe out a tip opportunity very fast.
Speed bumps require the same boat analogy as driving in the rain. Slow down!
4. School Pickups
I don’t experience this too much because I drive early in the morning. I don’t drive in the afternoon when many children take an Uber or Lyft home.
The most important thing about a school pick-up is to watch out for children darting in front of you. You have to be hyper-sensitive to your surroundings.
Children are unpredictable. Expect the unexpected.
5. Grocery Store Pick Ups
I am never happy when I have to do a grocery store pickup. I don’t like having to get out of my car to help with the loading of the grocery bags into my trunk.
To add to my feelings, I don’t think I have ever received a tip from a grocery store pickup. With all that said, my lesson from grocery store pickups is to see it as an opportunity to be of service.
While I don’t like it, you would never know it by the way I treat my passengers. I jump out of my car, I help with the bags, I get in and out of there very fast.
At the other end, I help to get all the bags out of my car. I have had to learn to be kind, and give of myself. While I may not see any immediate response, I am doing the right thing.
6. Gated Communities
I live in a pretentious community with a gate at the entrance, it is very common in Sacramento.
The key to avoiding wasting time at a closed gate is to request the code from the passenger. The codes in Sacramento start with the # symbol followed by four digits.
About half of my passengers know to text me the code beforehand.
Here is one tip. Most gated communities have someone who used #6969 as the code, it is funny, but true. Here again, drive slowly in a gated community or an apartment complex , the gate is there for a reason, the tenants want less traffic, and they want slow traffic.
Key Takeaways
Most of the message of this article is to slow down, respect mother nature, respect speed bumps, respect schools, respect gates.
Once I found my ability to slow down and enjoy the ride, tips came easier. Your passenger will be more relaxed, you will be more relaxed.
Most things in life work better when we are relaxed. Stay safe out there.
