Setting your seat up for best control & the Dutch reach

Getting your seat up correctly is important to maintain good control of a car. In instructor speak its known as the cockpit drill or DSSSM (Doors, Seat, Steering, Seatbelt, Mirrors)

Doors, are all the doors shut properly?

Seatbelt on? Mirrors, are they set up right?

Princess Bingbong has several points of adjustment on the seat.

When you guys are feeling a bit on the back foot, you often want to sit pretty close, be careful as this can make it harder to use the foot controls smoothly. Also worth a note is the airbags come out at over 100mph if they’re triggered in an accident!

To get the floor base position you want to push the clutch down with the front of your foot. You want your leg comfortable laying on the seat base. If you have butt lift youre too far away. If youre knocking your knees on the steering, youre probably too close. Use the closer/further lever on your left side, near the floor to move the base backwards and forwards.

The other options on the seat are

• Tilt lever, tilts the whole seat as a unit

• Seat extender, extends the base more for the longer legs

• Bolster button, tightens or relaxes the side bolsters

• Seat base higher or lower

• Backrest adjustment

The steering is next and that also has some adjustments for you. You should be able to rest your wrists comfortably on the top of the steering wheel and also see the speedo clearly. There’s a lever to the left of it that you push down to release it. Then make your adjustment, it goes up & down as well as pulls out towards the driver. Make sure the lever is locked back in place afterwards or you might get e fright if it starts moving about as youre driving!

Seat belt being on is pretty self explanatory. Do make sure its flat against you with no twists in it. (You can also make sure your handbrake is on and the gear stick in neutral before starting the car).

Lastly is Mirrors.

You should be able to see the front door handles in the door mirrors. You want to see as much of the rear window as you can within the frame of the rear view mirror. You can control moving the door mirrors with the buttons on the drivers door that are in front of the window buttons.

And finally,

The Dutch Reach

not as shady as it sounds

When the car is secured up and you get out again.