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Is a center seating position common for truck drivers? It looks amazing, but it is different enough from my normal consumer driving experience as to make the e

by abtinf 9y ago

Is a center seating position common for truck drivers? It looks amazing, but it is different enough from my normal consumer driving experience as to make the entire product a non-starter if it were in a consumer car. I've developed decades of training and muscle memory sitting on the left side of the car. I wonder if there will be a measurable impact on accident rates.

paulsutter 9y ago
Mclaren is a consumer car with a center seat: https://www.google.com/search?q=mclaren+center+seat&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=mclaren+center+seat&tbm=isch
- wmeredith 9y ago
  It’s hardly mainstream. It’s a $1,000,000+ hypercar.
- LeonM 9y ago
  It was, actually, because the McLaren F1 you are referring to was produced until 1998. Also those cars are changing hands for well over 10 million USD nowadays, so I'd hardly call is a 'consumer' car.
tribaal 9y ago
I doubt accident rates will be impacted that much. When you fly to a country that drives on the other side of the road from you and then rent a car, you are sitting on the other side of the car entirely. It takes a couple of hours at worse to get used to it for a manual transmission, automatics are even easier.
XorNot 9y ago
I live in Australia. It took about 2 days to get totally comfortable driving on the opposite side when I visited the US. I don't think it'll matter that much.
- jabretti 9y ago
  I've been back and forth from Australia to the US enough times that it takes about five minutes for my brain to adjust to driving on the other side of the road each time. That said, my brain takes the cue from looking at what side the wheel is on (I just keep the side with myself on it close to the centre line). If I got off the plane and into a McLaren F1 then I'd probably have real problems (thankfully Avis doesn't carry twenty-year-old supercars).
  - grecy 9y ago
    I'm Australian, have been driving in Canada/US for 7 years. Now I'm driving my Left-hand-drive Jeep on the left side of the road in Southern Africa. I have also driven right-hand-drive vehicles on the left in Canada. It's annoying for merging and overtaking, but it's not "difficult".
metaphor 9y ago
> I've developed decades of training and muscle memory sitting on the left side of the car. Have you considered what portion of said training and muscle memory was directly attributable to compensating for cabin asymmetry?

by abtinf 9y ago

paulsutter 9y ago

Mclaren is a consumer car with a center seat: https://www.google.com/search?q=mclaren+center+seat&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=mclaren+center+seat&tbm=isch

wmeredith 9y ago
It’s hardly mainstream. It’s a $1,000,000+ hypercar.
LeonM 9y ago
It was, actually, because the McLaren F1 you are referring to was produced until 1998. Also those cars are changing hands for well over 10 million USD nowadays, so I'd hardly call is a 'consumer' car.

tribaal 9y ago

I doubt accident rates will be impacted that much. When you fly to a country that drives on the other side of the road from you and then rent a car, you are sitting on the other side of the car entirely. It takes a couple of hours at worse to get used to it for a manual transmission, automatics are even easier.

XorNot 9y ago

I live in Australia. It took about 2 days to get totally comfortable driving on the opposite side when I visited the US. I don't think it'll matter that much.

jabretti 9y ago
I've been back and forth from Australia to the US enough times that it takes about five minutes for my brain to adjust to driving on the other side of the road each time. That said, my brain takes the cue from looking at what side the wheel is on (I just keep the side with myself on it close to the centre line). If I got off the plane and into a McLaren F1 then I'd probably have real problems (thankfully Avis doesn't carry twenty-year-old supercars).
- grecy 9y ago
  I'm Australian, have been driving in Canada/US for 7 years. Now I'm driving my Left-hand-drive Jeep on the left side of the road in Southern Africa. I have also driven right-hand-drive vehicles on the left in Canada. It's annoying for merging and overtaking, but it's not "difficult".

metaphor 9y ago

> I've developed decades of training and muscle memory sitting on the left side of the car. Have you considered what portion of said training and muscle memory was directly attributable to compensating for cabin asymmetry?