Sitting in Your Seat Properly Your back should be pressed against the backrest, and your bottom should be as far back in your seat as possible. Avoid driving with your body scorched forward; if you can't reach the pedals or steering wheel, adjust your seat, not your body.
Tilt your seatback. Leaning far back in the driver's seat might feel comfortable, but it causes you to jut your head and neck forward, which strains your neck and shoulders. Adjust your backrest to a slight 100- to 110-degree tilt to put the least amount of pressure on your back.
As a general rule you want to sit as low as possible with your legs straight, and your body is stretched out. This gives a nice low centre of gravity, the steering wheel is moved closer to your body, and the low seat base adds to the feeling of speed when you are driving.
Where is the safest place to put a car seat? A study published in Pediatrics, showed for children newborn to 3 years old and all installs being equal, sitting in the center rear seat is 43% safer than sitting on the side in the back. The rear center position will be the furthest from any impact in any type of crash.
Support – Back pain can result from lack of support in a car's seat. This may be due to the design of the seat or the way it's positioned.
Install in the Backseat
That is the safest spot for your baby. If you can, put the car seat in the center seat. If not, it is fine behind either the driver or passenger side. The important thing is that it is in the back, away from the airbags.
After research, many first-time parents learn that the safest configuration for car-seat installation is often the rear middle seating position.
We're here to help you to decide the best position for your car seat: 1) Rear Middle: The Safest Spot! The safest place for your car seat is the rear middle seat due to its maximum distance from passenger-side air bags and any potential impact.
Why is the middle seat safest? Simply stated, the middle seat is the furthest from impact during a collision, as well as the furthest away from air bags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that all children under the age of 13 ride in the back seat, ideally in the center.
Conclusion: This study has shown that the safest position for any occupant involved in a motor-vehicle crash is the rear middle seat.
At first glance, one might think that a driver's seat located in the center of a car would result in improved visibility. However, doing so would make the side-view mirrors impractical. Also, a middle-positioned seat would move the driver further away from the centerline of a road.
If the middle rear seat has a three-point (lap and diagonal) seat belt, this is the safest place to put a child restraint (unless the manufacturer's instructions say one of the other seats is better) because it is the furthest away from the sides of the car.
The most common mistakes: Not tightening the seat straps, failing to adhere to the manufacturer's safety instructions and using the seat belt incorrectly. What's more, 20 percent of all drivers transporting child passengers admitted that they did not read the instructions for properly installing their child seat.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), if you ride in the backseat of a car and do not wear a seatbelt, you are eight times more likely to be injured or killed in a collision than if you are wearing a seat belt. Even if you are just riding a couple of blocks, buckle up.
Slide your seat back so your knees are slightly bent when you press the gas and raise the seat until your hips and knees are level. Recline the backrest so it's positioned at a 100-degree angle and reposition the headrest so your head lays right in the middle.
Safest place for a car seat in a minivan or SUV
If the minivan or SUV has third-row seating, you want to try to seat your baby as close to the middle as possible. If your vehicle has a bench in the middle row, then you should install your car seat in the center of the middle row.
One strategy is to try to lift the hips a little higher relative to the knees to place pressure instead onto the sitting bones (or ischial tuberosities) of the lower buttock, the structures that are better designed for you to sit on!
Yes, car seat cushions can improve your posture and help reduce body aches, but not all cushions are designed to provide posture support.