EXPLORING THE OPTIMUM POSTURE FOR DRIVER COMFORT

Published postural angles for driving comfort are based on theoretical calculations and not observed driving postures. An experiment was con ducted to investigate observed optimum driving postures and positions of the main driving controls for comparison with available data. New g uidelines for optimum postural comfort have been developed. The recomm ended range of postural angles should be used with care because not al l people will be comfortable with the whole range as individuals. Furt hermore, inter-relationships between adjacent joint angles need to be considered. The data also support a strong need for both horizontal an d vertical adjustment in the steering wheel.