• 1

Getting Comfortable in the Driver’s Seat

Automobile manufacturers spend large of amounts of time and money in research and development of seat technology, with comfort the ultimate goal.  Ford Motor Company’s Seat Comfort Engineer Mike Kolich offers the following tips for staying comfortable on long drives.  His  suite of adjustments will optimize seat comfort and safe driving capabilities.

-Press your foot firmly to the floor behind the brake. Adjust the seat so your knee is slightly bent.

-Your left foot should rest comfortably on the “dead pedal” placed on the left in cars with automatic transmissions.  For manual transmission cars (stick shift), you should be able to depress the clutch without pointing your toes and with minimal hip rotation of your hips. Your left leg should be slightly bent when clutch is fully depressed.

-The small of your back should be pressed firmly to the back of the seat.

-Position your upper body so the side wings of the seat provide as much support as possible.

-Raise the seat as high off the floor as feels comfortable.

-While maintaining proper vision and reach, recline a little bit. This reduces fatigue.  For measurement in determining how little is that bit, our elbows should be slightly bent with your wrists on the top of the steering wheel (understanding that Ford safety experts recommend driving with your hands at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions for the best steering control to avoid an accident).

-Try turning the wheel a full 180 degrees. If either hand falls off the wheel, you’re too far away.  If you elbow yourself, you’re too close.

-Once you’re comfortable, make sure your seatbelt rides around your hips so it pulls you down in the event of a crash. 

As a further note, Kolich and his team just finished designing an industry-first, the Multi-Contoured Seat, which includes a series of air bladders that help with blood circulation and offers both lumbar and seat massage, making long trips less fatiguing.  These revolutionary seats (illustrated above) will debut on the 2010 Ford Taurus this summer, and parents better watch out—your backseat passengers may demand them, too.