We are often told that a bad posture at your desk can lead to long-term injury but what about the long-term effects of a bad driving position? Given that many of us will spend a large chunk of our lives behind the wheel, is this something that we should be giving more thought to? Many people attribute their discomfort behind the wheel to bad seats but given the scope for adjustment on most modern cars, is this a tad unfair? Surely things like height-adjustable seats and reach & rake adjutable steering wheels should make long distance comfort attainable for anybody?
I ask these questions as I have recently modified my driving position and have noticed a fantastic difference on longer (1hr+) journeys. Being tall, I always used to set the seat as far back as it would go and while this gave me plenty of legroom, I had to crane forward a bit to change gear, even with the backrest fairly upright. Pulling out the steering wheel as far as it will go also reduces the need to crane forward while maintaining maximum legroom.
What tips do backroomers have on how to attain the perfect driving position and maintain long distance comfort?
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On the odd occasions I have jumped into my sons cars over the years I have always felt as though I am lying on my back to drive.
It's a most uncomfortable position...the first thing I do is get he seat back upright and pull the seat forward......much better.
My favourite drive is still the Jowett. Nice and upright. I like the big steering wheel to be in my lap...add this to the column change and an armrest either side and the result is perfect for me .
My daughter likes the upright way as well but then she does drive an ambulance for a job.
Ted
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I'm with Ted on this one. Tend to prefer a fairly upright position in the lorry; the pick-up is dictated somewhat by the bench seat but is pretty much as Ted describes the Jowett; similar set-up.
Even in the Hyundai I don't have the seat too far back; makes my neck ache if it is.
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There's lots of information available ~ google for "driving position". Here's something which appears to be authoratitive. tinyurl.com/mp3ff9
Edited by L'escargot on 20/07/2009 at 08:10
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I also can't stand the boy racer driving position. I believe this dates back to sports cars being low on the road so when boy racer gets his 1.1 Saxo he feels he will replicate that sports car sensation by almost having his seat back horizontal!!
I like to sit high-up, usually drive MPV type cars and a Transit at work. Always try to have the back as close to vertical as possible but having read that article, maybe this isn't the best.
However what I do find annoying is you can drive the car for six months no problem, as soon as SWMBO drives it to the shops and back, and changes the seating position, it takes me ages to get it back to where I like it!!
Must buy memory seats next time!
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We are often told that a bad posture at your desk can lead to long-term injury but what about the long-term effects of a bad driving position?
Yes, if you do a search for some of my posts I have written several lonnnnnnnnnnnng posts on this matter. I will not repeat them here because I simply do not have the time this morning but if you can't find my posts I strongly suggest you google information on hyperventilation and driving and also look at several articles by osteopaths and driving.
I will highlight some areas to give you some ideas for thought:
1. If you posture is wrong in life it will seriously feck up your life. This can be from being sat in front of a PC to sitting behind a steering wheel all day.
Osteopaths everyday see people who have serious health problems - hyperventilation, asthma, etc, etc, - which are often due to bad posture and can often alleviated, sometimes corrected completely, by adjustment of posture.
Every time you get in and out of your car you are putting strain on all your joints - especially your knee and hip joints - as well as putting enormous pressure on your spine. We often also twist our spine getting in and out of cars. We forget that our spine is the motorway of our central nervous system and if that is out of kilter then all sorts of illnesses result - ask any osteopath.
Go to any supermarket car-park and watch people getting in and out of their cars - 99% of them are getting in/out of cars that are simply too small for them and hence putting enormous strain on their bodies several times a day.
If, when you get in/out of your car, your hip joint goes lower than your knee joint then you are, again, putting enormous pressure on those joints and this will lead to all sorts of long-term pain and illnesses. Often, people will carry this pain with them 24 hours a day and simply put up with it. When osteopaths correct problems often people become 'aware' that the pain is no longer there.
If you are doing the above - change your car.
Next time you are stuck in traffic look around at the other drivers - are they cramped up against their steering wheel? Are they hunched over with rounded shoulders? The rounded shoulders is a common sign of really bad posture and can be see in countless drivers every day and countless office workers hunched over their computer screens. Often, people are sat in cars where the cockpit is simply too small for them.
This is really important as if you are hunched with rounded shoulders you are not breathing correctly. This is often because you will have to 'chest breath' as opposed to breathing correctly from your diaphragm/stomach. This causes numerous problems with the body which can make your life a misery - your chest muscles and muscles in your neck will be exhausted and most of us will live with the pain. You will hyperventilate changing the mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body which can make you feel disconcerted, spaced out, angry, not quite in touch with things, anxious, a tight chest or even heart attack like chest pain and lead to even more severe symptoms and illnesses.
You might, for example, be diagnosed with asthma by your GP but the truth is that you are hyperventilating every time you go on a car journey and that is because you have bad posture sat behind your steering wheel. So you end up taking loads of inhalers daily that don't seem to cure your problem but also give you all sorts of nasty side-affects and our life simply goes downhill.
I could go on and on...
Have you tried the clenched fist above your head - sit in your car behind the steering wheel, make a fist with one hand and put it on top of your head. If you cannot fit a clenched fist between your head and the roof of your car not only is the car too small for you - hence all the above bad posture issues - but if you stop the car suddenly in an accident the law of physics means that your soft skull has no well to go as you are propelled forward other than into the hard metal of the roof of the car. People do not not simply move forward in an accident but move forwards and up.
Then there are all sorts of health issues about not twisting your spine whilst sat behind the wheel, whether your hands are level with your shoulders when they are on the steering wheel, whether your feet, knees and hips are in a straight line when you are sat in the driving seat.
There is simply so much but you rarely, if ever, read about this stuff in car reviews. I also, personally, think that the trend for smaller cars is going to result in millions of people sat in cars which are too small for them and building up all sorts of health problems for the future.
Read up about this, learn to drop your shoulders - actually learn to remember to drop your shoulders every hour of every day - and consider going to a good osteopath to get checked out. You might be surprised by what the osteo finds and does.
Consider yoga - yes, it is NOT just a girly thing as it can have dramatic impact on your posture. Ask an osteopath for tips about correcting your posture - a good tip is to stand with your back and shoulders square against a wall with your head looking straight ahead. Walk two steps forward not moving any other part of your body nor moving your head. Wait 60 seconds and then step back against the wall - is everything still square - but that is the correct posture you should be walking around with everyday and NOT with hunched and rounded shoulders or with your ears a few inches in front of your neck.
I will shut up now.
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If when you get in/out of your car your hip joint goes lower than your knee joint then you are again putting enormous pressure on those joints and this will lead to all sorts of long-term pain and illnesses. >>
I am currently very aware of that simple statement, because I am suffering from a strained knee. My car is quite high off the ground, but even so, as I sit down with my legs still outside the car, I then have to bend the knee and lift it up higher than my hips to get my foot over the cill. That is the killer point.
It is not helped by having front-hung doors. When years ago I had a car with long rear-hung doors I could get in hardly bending or lifting my knees.
Alternatively when I had a LandRover the seats were so high, again there was very little knee bending or lifting.
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It is the same with sofas in the house - most of the sofas sold nowadays are way too low for general health and well-being.
It is all very well the Japanese building cars but they are building cars for people whose average height is shorter than most Brits. In fact, I think only the Scandinavians build their car range for the average Brit height.
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Mrs Ted drives the C3, she likes the seat on full height. Trouble is, she never thinks to drop it down when she gets out.
This results in me, on the odd occasion I use it, having to perform all sorts of contortions to get in. The seat will not drop unless there is some weight on it. I have to sit sideways with my head out of the car and struggle to pull the handle, which is now somewhere underneath my legs.
The damn thing makes my back ache, anyway !
Ted
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"Have you tried the clenched fist above your head" - A luxury I've never found.
At 6' 2.5" and with long body, short legs, I'm more used to feeling my hair brushing the roof lining. My current C-Max is the first car I've owned where I can get a flat hand between head and roof.
Edited by Chris M on 20/07/2009 at 13:51
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My favourite driving position?
...Is lying in bed just before nodding off and dreaming about driving a Caterham Superlight on an empty road in the Lake District....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
;-)
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I like the seat high and the wheel low.
Wheel adjustment is usually quite limited. My present car has electric seat height adjustment, but unfortunately the squab (if that's what you sit on) tilts forward slightly as it rises, so the top position is not for me. Even where I have it the seat is a bit horizontal for my taste. I would like to tilt it back slightly, but no adjustment is provided.
Nevertheless the position is quite bearable if not perfect. And so it is usually, after a bit of trial and error, with most cars that I drive.
Perfection is for racing drivers, who even have a seat moulded to their exact shape and adjustable pedals and so forth...
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I've always followed the following rules to setup my perfect driving position
1 - You should be able to put the car into first gear without your shoulder lifting from the seat back (if you have an auto then grip the wheel at the 12 o'clock position instead), adjust seat angle accordingly.
2 - If you push your left leg to the floor (as if you where dipping the clutch) then your thigh should be supported by the seat and your pelvis shouldn't rotate to complete the action, adjust seat back/forward accordingly.
3 - Adjust the head restraint so that the bottom of it lines up with the bottom of your ear.
Then the only thing that I adjust is the seat height depending on the time of day, I seem to shrink during the day compared to first thing in the morning.
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One of my favourite things in my car is the fully electric adjustment of the seats. You can mess with it on the move without catapulting yourself forwards or backwards. I like to stretch out a bit on the motorway but prefer to be a bit closer to everything for town driving.
Something to do when bored too. Quietly switching on the heated seat for the passenger on hot days can be diverting also if feeling childish enough.....
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 20/07/2009 at 17:02
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Behind the wheel of a Bentley!
MD
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Firstly I sit in the seat properly, with the small of my back as far back in the seat as it will go.
The I adjust the distant to fully depressed clutch pedal, so the knees is still slightly bent
Then I sit quite up right, like in an office chair, and adjust the backrest angle so my shoulders are supported. Wind out the lumber a bit so you only just feel it in your back.
The adjust the wheel distance so my elbows are bent.
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Do those who wind their car seats bolt upright sit the same way at home? And if so, does it influence the choice of furniture? After all, why waste money and space on chairs when a piano stool will do?
}:--)
If it weren't so uncomfortable, I could sort of understand the bite-the-wheel posture in those whose driving began in the distant age of unassisted steering. But an awful lot of the learners who practise their hill starts in my street do it even today. Perhaps it creates a comforting illusion of control but I'd hope the instructors would teach good posture as a fundamental of driving. Pretty well any sports coach will start off getting your stance or posture right; shouldn't the same happen for new drivers?
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Try being 6ft 7 and meeting all those criteria!
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