Everyone drives best. Virtually all drivers have this opinion about themselves. However, it is worth knowing the views of others. You never know when we will come up with a brilliant idea that will change daily travels to work.
Position behind the wheel
Driving position is a basic element in driving technique. The way we sit behind the wheel often causes an avalanche of other technical errors forced by a wrong position. The correct position, on the other hand, guarantees effective and safe operation of the driver, both during normal driving and in extreme situations.
When determining the correct position behind the wheel, the first step should be setting the seat distance. Set this distance in such a way that when the clutch and brake pedals are depressed maximally, both legs are slightly bent. This is a very important element affecting the correct, uninterrupted operation of the legs when operating the pedals while driving. In an emergency braking situation, most drivers depress the brake pedal with all their strength. If at the moment of collision the legs would be fully straightened, this guarantees us severe fractures of the limbs. The bent leg gives in more easily to collision forces and backing up creates a chance to save the bone. Remember that while driving, the leg you push the clutch rests on the support (near the wheel arch) or on the floor. It is a mistake if it rests all the time on the clutch pedal. Increasingly, car manufacturers equip their seats with height adjustment. The seat height is adjusted in such a way that it allows us the widest field of visibility. This feature is important in improving the convenience of traveling. However, remember that the distance between the head and the ceiling should not be drastically short. This is dangerous when driving on potholes or rolling over.
The next step is to set the backrest distance. Leaning on the largest surface of the back against the backrest so that both blades stick to it, we grab the steering wheel at its top (12 o’clock). We adjust the distance so that the arm is slightly bent at the elbow. In a situation when the adjusted backrest enforces the position of an upright arm in the elbow, the driver is not able to work quickly and efficiently at the steering wheel in times of danger, e.g. recovering from slip.
In modern driving technique, there is a tendency to shorten the response time when driving a car. The driver must be able to respond as quickly as possible to a given stimulus, e.g. an obstacle on the road. Sitting behind the wheel we have to receive the largest possible surface of the body stimuli coming to us from the car – “read the way.” Each delay pulling up on the steering wheel, moving your leg to the brake pedal are precious seconds and meters traveled. When adjusting the seat, we can not forget about comfort. However, let’s remember a certain hierarchy.
Safety and efficient operation come first,
later convenience.
When adjusting the seat, we can not forget to adjust the headrests. The height of the headrest should be set so that the upper part reaches the top of the head.
