How can people sit so close to the wheel???

Iamzod

Iamzod

Iamzod

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I've had to drive a few cars that other people had been in over the last couple of weeks and have been amazed at how close some of them sit to the steering wheel.

Moved someones car at work the other day around the works car park as she was complaining about a problem with it so i went for a look, when i managed to get my knees past the steering wheel i was sat almost vertically upright with my chin not much more than a foot away from the wheel and my elbows right down by my side.

How can anyone sit & drive a car like this comfortably?? :confused:

Surely if the airbag goes off like this it's going to break your neck?

Since then i've noticed a hell of a lot of people driving around almost resting their chins on the top of the dashboard (slight exaggeration ;))
 
i've got a friend who sits ridiculously high like my mum..
they both have the same reason - "i like to see the front of the bonnet"

why?! it is so unnecessary. the only time you need to see the front of your car is when parking..
 
I must sit quite close to the steering wheel (I only noticed when I drove my girlfriends car at the weekend and didn't have to move her seat - she's 5'5 and I'm 6'0")
 
I sit fairly close cos same reason as Booner.I tried sitting a bit further back and stalled quite a bit (only been driving my own car for 2months).
 
Why do people recline their seats so far back when driving. Seems to be an Asian thing.

Any ideas?
 
neighbour drives arched over her steering wheel....in an audi tt with seemingly no sense of awareness, was i scared, YES

i feel i sit an adequate distance from the wheel with a bit of lean just cos i find that more comfortable without impairing my control of the vehicle
 
my girlfriends mum sits so close to the steering wheel that she probably would die instantly if the air bag went off....but she has no choice, she's about 4'10 and even then has disproportionately short legs, a lot of cars she just physically can't reach the pedals on!

I sit closer than most my size, i tend to have the chair tilted backwards at the base so that my legs kinda go up then back down, find it more supportive and more comfortable :) I'm 6'4 and in cars that allow that adjustment dont have to have the seat all the way back when some shorter people do.
 
I one tried to drive while sitting closer to the wheel than i usually would. It was prety disorientating and scared me, so i went back to the usual laid back with one elbow on the door and the other hand at the top of the wheel :cool:
 
Is it true that the deployment force exerted by an airbag could cause serious harm such as crushed chests when sat too close?
 
I have the seat as far back as it'll go in my 530i, although interestingly not in my mum's Focus. I guess it's because I have long legs.

My mum has her seat so close I can't get in without moving it back :(
 
Conscript said:
Erm...they're shorter than you?

Surely that answer was obvious? :confused:
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If the person in the example i gave was about 4'2" then i'd agree, but their arms are definately longer than 12" being as they aint that far off 6 feet tall.

It just looks so uncomfortable, like they have been rammed into a space too small for them.

Tim said:
I sit well forward (not short either, 5' 11") - it's a car not an arm chair
Click to expand...

You dont sit as far forward as i'm talking though hehe, not unless you have recently started driving differently.

I'm talking seat almost as far forward as it will go, seat back nearly vertical, elbows not far off touching seat back kinda forward.
 
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