Davis:Hi, Pat.

Goss: Hello, John.

Davis: What have you got for us this week?

Goss: Safety and comfort behind the wheel.

Davis: Ah, the proper seating position. Now, you’ve always told us when trying out a car, if you can’t get comfortable behind the wheel, you’ll never like the car. But there’s more to the proper seating position than just comfort, right?

Goss: Yeah, because if you’re not properly seated, you’ll never be safe in that car either.

Davis: So what do you look for to start?

Goss: Okay. Well, of course the first thing that you always want to do is to buckle up.

Davis: Make sure the seatbelt’s comfortable. If it’s height adjustable, you don’t want it to rub you on the neck.

Goss: That’s right.

Davis: Okay, what’s next?

Goss: Okay. The next thing is proper adjustment of the seat.

Davis: Now Jessica has joined us from our staff. What should she be looking for?

Goss: Well, we want fore and aft adjustment that’s correct, and hopefully the car has a vertical adjustment on the seat as well.

Davis: It’s a power or manual height adjustment.

Goss: Right.

Davis: Okay.

Goss: So you get that done, and you want to make sure that you’re far enough away from the airbag. You’ve got to be at least 10 inches away from the airbag.

Davis: So about like that, but more is better.

Goss:Absolutely. All right, so that may pose a problem. You get that far away from the airbag, you may not be able to reach the pedals. And that’s where a new option or two comes into play. Some cars you can get with adjustable pedals, or you may be able to get a telescoping steering wheel.

Davis: So pedals that move fore and aft maybe four inches or a wheel that moves in and out, and they’re becoming more popular.

Goss: Yeah, and they’re very desirable.

Davis: Now, Jessica, are you pretty comfortable?

Choksey: I’m very comfortable.

Davis: Do you feel safe?

Choksey: Yes, absolutely. These added features really make a difference.

Davis: What about your arms? Are you stretched way out or ...

Choksey: I’m very comfortable.

Davis: A nice bend to the elbow.

Choksey: Yes, very much so.

Davis: Thanks, Jessica. Okay, suppose you’re looking at an older car. It doesn’t have all these modern conveniences. I mean my dad used to always put blocks of wood under the seat and on the pedals. I guess we don’t do that anymore, right?

Goss:No, at least not under the seat. That could be a real safety faux pas. But pedals, sometimes, but you want it done professionally. The other thing that you might want if you want pedal extensions, you can get commercial ones like these. There are varying types. These are pretty basic.

Davis: Basically a hose clamp on a tube.

Goss: Yeah. There are some much better ones out there. Do a little shopping, and you’ll have a good, safe application.

Davis: What about getting the seat up a little bit? Since you don’t want to put anything under it, some kind of cushion?

Goss:Yeah. Cushions like these, they help certainly, but make sure they can be tied in place so that you don’t go submarining under the steering wheel.

Davis: You don’t want to sit on a phone book, right?

Goss: That’s right.

Davis: Okay, sounds like good advice.

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