- open the door with the right hand
- put the left leg parallel to the body of the car and transfer the weight of the body to it,
- lean with your left hand on the opening of the open window of the door or on the inner door handle,
- put your right foot as far to the right as possible under the steering wheel,
- take a seat,
- Close the door with your left hand.
Comment. Some drivers, and especially women, sit in a passenger car head first, with their right hand resting on the back of the seat, and with their left hand on the top of the steering wheel. In this case, the head often hits the interior rear-view mirror. It's not very convenient.
Proper seating for the driver in the cab ensures the least fatigue, ease of use of instrument controls and good visibility. Once in the car, you need to sit comfortably, adjust the seats so that you can freely put your feet on the pedals, lean on the back, hands on the steering wheel should be slightly bent at the elbows.
Fitting the seat and backrest according to the figure consists in the fact that, using the adjusting handles, the seat moves back and forth while setting the backrest inclination. The tilt of the back allows you to distribute the weight of the body on the seat and back, to relax the muscles of the ribs to the greatest extent, and provides comfortable bending of the legs at the knee.
After adjusting the seat, do this workout: without holding the steering wheel, take your feet off the pedals. If you keep your balance in this position, then everything is in order, and if you are pulled forward, the back will have to be pushed back.
Ease of landing is also determined by the inclusion of third gear. If the back does not come off the seat, then everything is in order. The legs should press the pedals to the floor, remaining in a half-bent position.
If after the start of the movement you began to fidget on the seat, change the position of the body, then the seat and backrest are not adjusted correctly.
On fig. 5 shows the main angles that determine the correct position of the driver. On fig. 6 shows the driver's driving position, correct and incorrect.
If you ride mostly by yourself and don't alternate with other riders, you should set the seat to the final position for your convenience. Moreover, the lower part of the seat that is too protruding forward unpleasantly presses the leg under the knee, and too short, on the contrary, does not create sufficient support. Because of this, the legs quickly get tired, go numb and lose the necessary sensitivity and mobility. The same applies to overstretched or bent arms. If your back hurts after a long ride, check to see if the pain is caused by the wrong seat back.
Of course, if you want to ride easily and comfortably, do not spare any money or labor to refit the seats. The main thing - do not convince yourself that you drive a little and for short distances, when convenience is not so important. Poor visibility from the driver's seat, untimely pressing the pedal or touching the steering wheel on your knees can have equally irreparable consequences on both short and long routes.
Traveling by car is always fraught with the danger of an accident and represents a special degree of risk. In this case, an accident can occur not through the fault of the driver himself, but through the fault of other road users or due to bad weather conditions.
For example, a car traveling at a speed of 40 km/h cannot physically stop at a distance of less than 10 m, and the passengers and the driver continue to move, move out of their seats somewhat and may hit the steering column or front glass, with the most dangerous place being considered to be near driver. The passenger is not prepared for sudden braking, and the driver rests on the brakes, preparing for braking.
When a car hits a stationary obstacle at this speed, those sitting in the car are thrown forward with a force exceeding their own weight by 12 times, and if the speed is greater, naturally, the force will be greater.
To prevent the consequences of such impacts, seat belts are used in the car. They protect the passenger from hitting the front wall of the body, and the driver from hitting the steering wheel.
Seat belts must meet special requirements. Upon impact, the belt must stretch to a certain length, thus increasing the braking distance of drivers and passengers.
Accident statistics show that with seat belts fastened, you are 2-3 times more likely to save your life in a collision and 5 times more likely in a rollover.
Of course, belts may not help if the speed is more than 100 km / h or the belt is not adjusted correctly. The seat belt must not only be brought into position, but also adjusted.
Consider Fig. 7. The belt is brought into position with the left hand by pulling it out of the socket and transferring a special tongue to the right hand (1) on the belt. The tongue moves freely along the belt in order to adjust the required length for your height and volume. The tongue is inserted into a special lock (2) on the right side of the driver's seat and on the left side of the passenger's seat. The latch should secure the position of the belt. This belt simultaneously presses the hips to the seat, and the chest and shoulders to the back of the seat. By pressing the button (3) the belt buckle is automatically released.
The belt must be adjusted so that, having taken the correct posture, the driver feels a tight fit of the belt, while the palm of the driver’s right hand and the passenger’s left hand at chest level must pass under the fastened belt with tension.
After adjusting the belts, you need to check how comfortable it is to use the switch on the instrument panel and the gear lever. Hinders movement? Be patient a little. You'll get used to it and won't even notice the belt.
A seat belt is required not only for the driver and passenger sitting next to him, but also for passengers sitting in the rear seats. However, these belts must not be used for children under 12 years of age. In children, the head is relatively heavy, and the cervical vertebrae are weak. Therefore, when using these belts during an impact, the child's head is thrown forward and a spinal fracture occurs, so children under 12 years old can only be transported in the front seat in special seats.
The head restraint is designed to prevent injury to the spine in the event of a sudden and sharp blow from behind. The driver feels pain in the cervical vertebrae. And this happens because the head restraint was not adjusted after the purchase of the car, and even worse, if it was removed at all. The headrest can be adjusted both vertically and by tilting. The head restraint should be positioned so that its rigid part is at eye level and as close to the back of the head as possible and comfortable. A properly adjusted headrest can save your life.
You need to properly adjust the rear view mirror. Rear-view mirrors contribute greatly to improving traffic safety and are essential in today's heavy traffic.
The car must have a rear-view mirror inside the cab, through which the driver sees the road behind the car, and one or two outside rear-view mirrors, through which the driver sees the road from the left and right sides of the car. The interior mirror is adjusted by rotating the mirror housing itself. External mirrors are adjusted by special levers on the car door inside the cab. Luxury cars are equipped with a special switch, with which you can also adjust the position of the exterior mirrors.
The mirror must be installed as shown in fig. 8 so that the driver can see behind the car without turning his head. When adjusting the mirror, you need to hold it in such a way that you do not touch its surface, otherwise fingerprints will remain on it, and they distort and blur the image, and also distract your attention from the road. The interior mirror is flat and therefore does not distort the image from behind. Some drivers install convex mirrors, they reduce the image, such mirrors should not be used, as they distort the picture of the road and change the proportions of the sizes of objects visible in them, this makes it difficult to determine the distance to the car from behind, and therefore their speed, but they have one advantage - they increase visibility. Interior mirrors usually have a switch lever that allows you to switch the mirror from normal to anti-glare position, this position at night avoids glare.
External mirrors are mostly convex. The most important thing when adjusting is that the mirrors cover as much of the road surface as possible from the side and rear.
No matter how you twist the mirrors, the blind spots will be exactly the same. You cannot completely trust the mirrors, because any road user can be in the blind zone. Therefore, when controlling the surface of the road, you also need to turn your head.
When adjusting the interior mirror with one exterior mirror, adjust it so that the right rear door window and most of the rear window can be seen in its right corner. With two external mirrors - so that the rear window of the car can be seen. The rear left wing of the vehicle should be visible in the left exterior mirror in the right corner.
Regular use of mirrors, control over the real traffic situation around the car is a necessary element of safe driving.
After adjusting the position of the mirrors, find «blind spots». They are located directly behind and on both sides of the vehicle. A quick glance at these zones is enough to make sure they are safe. This must be done before changing lanes and before maneuvering. Try not to guess «blind spots» in other vehicles and do not stay in them for a long time.
In the rearview mirror, you need to look in front of:
- start of movement;
- rebuilding;
- turning right, left or turning;
- overtaking, advancing or detour;
- reversing;
- stopping or opening doors;
- braking;
- approaching a dangerous area.