Why are drivers on the left/right of a car, when having the driver dead set in the middle would grant better vision on both sides?

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I’m sure it has to do something with direction of traffic and what not, but I think it’s just more natural that way no?

In: Engineering

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The driveshaft went down the middle of rear wheel cars which used to be more common, so it was easier to sit on the side of it.

Anonymous 0 Comments

When driving on the right side of the road, turning left is the most dangerous turn. So having the driver’s seat on the left gives the driver the best visibility on that side to see into the lanes they need to cross through on their left turn.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Sitting on one side allows for more passengers in the front seats. Some early automobiles and trucks did use a center-driver layout, but it isn’t an efficient use of space within the cabin if you want more people than just the driver to fit in there. You still occasionally see it on special use vehicles and exotic sports cars.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Sitting in the middle would not give better vision when you are overtaking another vehicle. That is the situation in my experience when there is a significant difference between the driver and passenger position.

To have center driver in a regular car the width of the car would need to be increased for 3 person in the fromt or the same width and persons in the from.
For racing all trave in the same direction, only the driver is in the car and have a equal center of mass is relevans so then a driver in the center is a good idea. But for regular driving it is not.

Anonymous 0 Comments

you can get a car with the driver in the center! it is just that it is a Mclaren F1, which runs north of $10,000,000. [https://historygarage.com/mclaren-f1-grandfather-hyper-car/](https://historygarage.com/mclaren-f1-grandfather-hyper-car/) I think that part of is that you need to pick a side, so that you can get 2 people across.