Women Driving Larger Vehicles: A Common Seating Position Problem

There’s something I’ve noticed for a long time—and even briefly mentioned on this blog once before: many women driving larger vehicles seem to sit too low in their seats.
I suspect their seats aren’t adjusted properly, because often only the top half of their faces is visible. It can make you do a double take: “Wait, is a child driving?” Or even wonder if the car is driving itself with no one behind the wheel… (lol). You can barely see the driver at all.

Here’s the picture I have in mind.

(I looked for an image like this, but of course there wasn’t one, so I made it myself lol.)

Ideally, I think sitting up about this high would be just fine.

(Maybe this one’s the opposite problem—the seat is too high…)

I mentioned this to my husband once, and he said:

“Yeah, I know what you mean—but you’re doing the exact same thing (-_-).”

“Seriously?! (*_*)”

I thought I had a perfectly clear view of the road ahead and was driving with a proper seating position. But apparently, just like the women I’d noticed, I was sitting so low that the lower half of my face was hidden.

After that, I started looking into proper driving positions and realized how much an incorrect seating position can increase the risks of driving—and how important it is to adjust your seat correctly.

So today, I’d like to share the video my husband showed me and that I used as a guide.

Learn the Right Driving Position from a Professional Racing Driver

Today’s video, posted on Porsche’s official YouTube channel, explains how to set your seat and steering wheel in the right position. It demonstrates the driving position for a Porsche 911 R, so the seat may sit lower than in an everyday car. But the advice covers fundamentals that matter in any car.

The video is presented by Patrick Long, a professional racing driver and Porsche factory driver.

...Wait, Patrick Long is the same age as me! (゜o゜)!

I thought he was older. People who compete on the world stage really do have a different kind of presence and gravitas… Anyway, that’s beside the point.

At the start of the video, Patrick Long says that it’s important to set the optimal driving position before starting the engine. The basics of driving begin with finding a position that lets you control the car properly at all times.

How to Check Your Driving Position: Steps 1–3

① Reach forward and check that your wrist meets the top of the steering wheel

For the women sitting low in their seats that I mentioned at the start, I imagine they’d have to raise their arms quite a bit to bring their wrists to this point on the wheel. Adjust the seat height so you can comfortably reach the top of the steering wheel with your wrist.

When I adjusted my seat to match, I was surprised by how high I ended up sitting: “Wait, I’m supposed to drive from up here?!” In other words, I really had been sinking too far down in the seat. lol

② Check that you can operate the pedals comfortably

Your knee should remain naturally bent, even when you press the clutch or accelerator pedal all the way down. Your knee shouldn’t be bent so much that you feel cramped, but the seat shouldn’t be so far back that your leg is fully stretched when you press the pedal, either.

③ Adjust the steering wheel’s height and reach

Hold the wheel with both hands and turn it as far as it will go. Make sure your shoulders stay against the seat and there’s enough clearance between the wheel and your knees. If your shoulders lift off the seat, your knees get too close to the wheel, or the controls feel cramped, adjust the steering wheel until you can move comfortably.