Women Driving Large Vehicles

I’ve thought about this for a while and even briefly mentioned it once on this blog. It’s the “issue of low seating height for ladies driving large vehicles.”
I suspect it’s because the seat isn’t adjusted properly, but usually you can only see the upper half of their face. Sometimes I even mistake them for kids driving, or wonder if it’s actually an unmanned self-driving car… that’s how little of them you can see (laughs).

Here’s a rough image of what I mean.

(I searched for an image but obviously couldn’t find one, so I made this myself, haha)

Ideally, I think this kind of seating height would be fine.

(This might actually be a bit too high…)

When I mentioned this to my husband before, he said:

Yeah, I get it, but I’m in the same boat myself (-_-)

Seriously!? (*_*)

I thought my forward visibility was fine and that I was driving with a proper seat position, but apparently I’m just like those ladies whose faces are half-buried below the window line.

Since then, I started researching driving positions and realized “how dangerous it can be to drive with the wrong position” and “how important it is to properly adjust your seat.”

So today, I want to share a video my husband taught me about that I found very helpful.

Learning Driving Position from a Professional Racing Driver

The video I’m sharing today is from Porsche’s official YouTube channel, explaining the correct seat position and proper steering wheel placement.
It’s about the driving position for the 911R, so the seat might be a bit lower than usual, but I think it covers essential basics that apply to any car.

The explanation is given by Patrick Long, a professional racing driver and Porsche works driver.

.…and by the way, Patrick Long is actually the same age as me! (゜o゜)!

I thought he’d be older. People who succeed globally really have a different aura and presence… but anyway, that’s beside the point.

At the start of the video, Patrick Long says it’s “important to set the optimal driving position before starting the engine.”
No matter when or where, having the best position to fully control the car is fundamental to safe driving.

Checking Your Driving Position ①–③

① Extend your arms and check if your wrists reach the top of the steering wheel

For those ladies who sink deeply into the seat like I mentioned earlier, you probably have to raise your arms quite a bit to get your wrists to this position on the steering wheel. Adjust your seat height so your wrists can rest here comfortably.

When I adjusted my seat to this position, I was shocked at “Wow! I’m driving from this high up!?”
Which means I was definitely sitting way too low before (laughs).

② Check if you can comfortably press the pedals

Make sure your knees can bend naturally while you can fully press the clutch or accelerator pedals.
If your knees are bent too much, it’s too cramped; if the seat is too far back, your leg will be fully stretched when pressing the pedals, which is also not good.

③ Check the steering wheel position (up/down, forward/back)

Hold the steering wheel with both hands and turn it fully.
Make sure your shoulders stay against the seat and there’s enough space between your knees and the steering wheel.
If your shoulders lift off the seat or your knees hit the wheel, adjust the steering wheel position accordingly.