My wife has retired her 2015 RAV4 and, as a Toyota-for-lifer, she has replaced it with a Lexus NX 250. Until a recent trip to Austin, I had only driven the NX by myself, and just a mile or so to the car wash. As I got hours of seat time on this trip to Austin with my wife, I learned there is a no-armrest rule. As in, I mustn’t use the armrest to rest my arm. Because I might dent it.
As you can imagine, a four-hour highway sesh without being able to assume my signature road-trip position – slouched heavily to the right, really enjoying the armrest, right hand hanging over the console while my left is hooked over the wheel at the 12 o’clock position – was quite uncomfortable.
I suffered along with both hands on the wheel like some kind of safety nerd, and recalled I’m supposed to have my hands at the three and nine positions clockface-wise, which I do not like. I’m a two-and-ten guy, and yes, I know about the airbag and why you don’t want to have your arms at two and ten, but sorry, I just can’t. I’m old and untrainable.
As for how I drape the rest of my frame on the driver’s seat and pedals, I think I’m pretty standard. The seatback isn’t particularly laid back or bolt upright, and my left foot rides the dead pedal. On long drives, I might pull that left foot back close to the seat.
I don’t tend to notice many others’ driving positions when I’m on the road, but there are two weird modes that stand out, and when I spot them, it’s always the youths assuming the positions in question. The first is “driver somehow in the middle of the car.” How is the driver’s head perfectly aligned with the CHMSL? Or even slightly to the right of it? I’m behind an Altima, not a McLaren F1! Like, I may lean a little rightward when I drive (I’m on the armrest, remember), but I remain fully within the confines of the left side of the cabin.
The other mind-boggler is the “10G liftoff position,” wherein the driver is fully reclined or close to it, seat pushed all the way back, so at most all you can see is the top of his head, which is well past the B-pillar. How do they reach the wheel? How is that comfortable? I tried it, it’s awful!
Anyway …
What’s Your Favorite Driving Position?
Top graphic image: Nissan
I like to have the steering wheel all the way down and back so I can sit the furthest back, don’t recline the seat all the way back,but something in the middle.
Also,you must be very patient. I my wife tried to boss over my driving position,she would be driving for the rest of the trip.
I like to sit very upright, and close to the steering wheel. I hope I’m not too close, but that gives me the best view around the car. I’ve never understood people who have the seatbacks way back, but then sit upright.
In city driving I keep a firm hand or two on the wheel, only on the straighter open roads do I rest my right elbow on the center armrest, and hold the wheel at 4:30.
I’m 6′ and built like Mr potato head …all torso.
My seat is as low as it can go, back far enough to have my feet comfortably stretch a full press of the gas, and the steering wheel pulled as close as possible with my little T-Rex arms. Most cars I want more reach than the wheel allows.
I typically cruise with my hands at 4-8 resting arms on my thighs or armrests, or I’ll single hand it at 6-ish. I only have my hands higher if I’m driving aggressively, which is often in the Boston area.
Finding the correct seating position is an easy formula:
Seat as low as it’ll go without obstructing visibility.
Steering wheel close enough for you to rest your wrist at 12 o’clock with your arm straight while your shoulder is in full contact with the backrest.
This forces you to steer more with your wrists and forearms and less with your shoulders, which are area’s where you have better fine motor controls and therefore more precise steering. Also, most cars are set up with this in mind, which is why when you set up your seat this way, you can hold the wheel at 9 and 3 and still have your elbows sitting on the armrest.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of 10 and 2 being dangerous because of airbags… well I guess that’s something to think about.
My process for seat position is usually making sure I can fully depress the clutch with my left leg (seat forward/back), then adjusting the steering wheel up/down to see the gauge cluster in conjunction with the angle of the seatback, which I tend to be pretty upright to get a good view out and to keep my back supported on long drives. My Fit doesn’t have a height adjustment for the seat, but if I could adjust it I usually like to sit lower.
I usually drive with my hands at 8 and 4 so that I can use my armrests. I find 9 and 3 uncomfortable.
I don’t understand the reliance on armrests. I would say that because my hands are always at 10 and 2 as I was taught (long before airbags), my arms are always at rest. Just last week I was surprised to find an armrest folded next to my seat, in a car I’ve driven over 200,000 miles.
I have to triangulate between three main things:
One positive thing about my Ram dying was that I learned GM and Ford both make trucks that fit me better. Even though the Ram was a bit cushier in terms of the seats and the suspension, I am much more comfortable on long drives in my Chevy because I can find a decent seating position.
Where you live, do some drivers, mainly of VW Golf, Audi, BMW, drive with their arms outstretched and their head shifted to the right between the two headrests, or is that a peculiarity of where I live, in France ?
Tilted back about 20 degrees, right arm on armrest, left arm resting on door, hand at 6ish.
depends on the car tbh.
I sit a lot more upright in my E28 BMW than in my E38 or my E39 BMW.
according to my wife, this is exactly how I drive
Classic 9 and 3, even occasionally 8 and 4.
Fairly upright, and I never used an armrest, even though its position in my Fit is apparently not good per other drivers’ comments.
It’s very comfortable, and my partner and I can do 10+ hours and our 70 year old bodies do not protest…much 😉 It helps that we’re relatively thin and somewhat short.
As a vertically challenged person, I usually have to go up a little with the seat in most larger vehicles, but for the seating position itself, if I’m just driving on the street normally, I want to sit wherever has my elbows at a natural slightly-more-than-90 degree angle. If I’m racing or having fun up in the mountains, I’ll sit a smidge closer to get my elbows to a slightly-less-than-90 degree angle. As the owner of zero automatic vehicles, both of my feet have jobs to do, but the left will sometimes stay back rather than ride the dead pedal, depending on how my ankle is feeling that day.
I have seen a non-zero amount of people driving with their left foot hanging outside the window and I’ve never been able to grasp how they’re driving like that, let alone why.
Left leg seems a guy thing and feet on the dash seems a (young) woman thing. I don’t wish ill on people but we need more broken hips, legs, and facial bones before this stops.
Our favorite is the driver reading an open Bible on his steering wheel on his way to church…at 70 on the Interstate.
I have also seen that. You’d have to be pretty short and pretty flexible.
I like to sit somewhat reclined (but not as reclined as in the last pic) so there is at least 12 inches between me and the airbag.
I’m 6’3 with herniated L5 & L6 discs. I sit however is required to be comfortable. Some vehicles are better than others.
I’m short, but just not enough to struggle with seeing over the hood.
I always lower the seat as far as it goes, fiddle with the incline to lift the front/lower the rear (with my heels lightly resting on the floor) until I feel the bulk of my weight start coming off my tailbone, but not too much, otherwise it limits leg movement.
Then I slide the seat forward until heel-toe feels good without squishing the seat, which really depends on the car, and telescope the steering wheel all the way towards me, tilt the backrest forward until I have a relaxed reach to the top of the wheel, and tilt the wheel until I have a clear view of the gauges.
Of course, many cars lack some of these adjustments, including my own car, which doesn’t have steering wheel tilt or seat-bottom tilt, so I have to slide back until my knee just barely pushes into the seat when blipping with the right heel, and I just got lucky that without steering tilt, my sitting position happens to put me where I can see all the gauges.
Another compromise I have to make is that modern cars are designed such that you can’t place the steering wheel at full race-car proximity, because that would be way too close for the airbag or 3-point belt to function safely.
dogg….err, what, driving position? Oh, sorry, wrong forum.