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?

Question

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

Answer 1

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.