Travelling and riding in a car is one of the activities of daily life that takes the most time, from driving to work through to going on a trip to another province. The more the traffic is jammed, the longer the time that must be spent in the car. Just like sitting at work continuously for a long time, driving may also have a bad effect on health, and increase the risk of disease arising, or make us have symptoms of muscle pain in the same way.
At this point, we can reduce the effect on health to the least by adjusting the sitting posture while driving, and there are 5 main points in all, namely
1. The seat and the distance from the steering wheel
You must push your back and your buttocks close to the back of the seat so that the car seat supports the whole of your back, while also being able to place the legs and the feet on the accelerator, the brake, and the clutch without difficulty in flexing the ankle to alternate between them. The knees must not be bent too much.
2. The tilt of the backrest
The important principle is that when it has been tilted, you must not feel that you have to use force to lift the neck and the head up to look at the road or to straighten up, and it must be at an angle that can bear the weight of the back evenly, about 100-110 degrees, as well as the head having to be in a position of about 0-10 degrees. The neck must not be bent until aching pain arises.
3. The height of the headrest
The back part of the head must be able to rest against the headrest exactly. Do not adjust it down so low that it comes to support the nape, because that is a position that may be dangerous if an accident occurs.
4. The height of the seat
The height of the seat must be at a level at which the road can be seen clearly and all around, as well as the arms and the shoulders not being raised in tension, so that the steering wheel can be held comfortably, at an angle of 90-115 degrees according to preference.
5. The angle of the steering wheel
The steering wheel for driving should not be in a position that is too high, which will cause tension in the muscles of the neck, the shoulder blade, and the shoulder. The level of height should be lowered so that it can be held comfortably in relation to the height of the seat, so that the steering wheel can be held and turned nimbly, without obstruction.
That said, adjusting the posture in driving must not affect the ability to drive, the field of vision, convenience, and other things that may be dangerous to yourself and to others on the road.
Besides these postures, an important point that must be attended to in addition is adjusting the angle of the rear-view mirror and the side mirrors of the car, so that the things around the car can be seen all around and safely. If there are symptoms of aching pain in the body from driving for a long period, stopping the car for a rest in order to get out and stretch, and walking to change posture a little.