{"id":2760,"date":"2013-06-24T07:54:02","date_gmt":"2013-06-23T21:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/?p=2760"},"modified":"2023-08-18T22:57:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T12:57:45","slug":"map-reading-seat-position-and-other-driving-debates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/home\/map-reading-seat-position-and-other-driving-debates\/","title":{"rendered":"Map Reading, Seat Position And Other Driving Debates"},"content":{"rendered":"

They say that one of the things that causes the most car-related debate between couples is navigation and map reading. This may have been changed by GPS systems and sat-nav. Possibly, this is one reason why navigation systems tend to come as standard features on an awful lot of new cars <\/a>coming out these days \u2013 it saves marital conflict over map reading.<\/p>\n

However, this isn\u2019t the case in our household. And this is not because our Ford <\/a>has a red-hot navigation system. It doesn\u2019t (and I\u2019m pretty good at reading maps).  What it doesn\u2019t have is memory seats, and the different settings (forward & back, lumbar support and seat angle) are manually adjustable. So the thing that causes the debate is seat position.<\/p>\n

The arguments caused by a lack of memory seats are less heated than the ones that stereotypically crop up about map reading. They are more in the nature of low-grade grumblings.<\/p>\n

The typical argument about map reading goes something like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going the wrong way, dear,\u201d she says<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I\u2019m not,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were supposed to turn right at that intersection that you drove past a minute ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy the hell didn\u2019t you say so?\u201d He keeps driving in the same direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did say so!  I told you to turn right at Queen Street ages ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know that was Queen Street? How was I supposed to know that was Queen Street?  Do you really expect me to read every single little road sign?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I do. I would have been able to read it if you hadn\u2019t been driving so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not driving fast. Why didn\u2019t you tell me that Queen Street was coming up?  You\u2019ve got the map.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I said to take the next right. There haven\u2019t been any other roads to the right and I thought you had enough common sense to read the road signs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m relying on you to tell you which way to turn and when to turn.  Why can\u2019t you do a simple thing like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did!  And you\u2019re still going the wrong way!  Why won\u2019t you listen? I had the map here and told you.\u201d  She holds up the map and points to the intersection in question.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re holding the bloody map upside down again! I don\u2019t know why you do that \u2013 it drives me nuts and how you can read the thing properly like that, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so on and so on, ad nauseam<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\"935652-woman-reading-map-by-car\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Seat position grumbles are less dramatic and usually only take place once in the journey unless one of us is in a very bad mood.<\/p>\n

His grumble: \u201cWho\u2019s been fiddling around with the seat position? What have you done with it this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved the seat forward. You know I\u2019ve got short legs and can\u2019t reach the pedals if I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t get behind the wheel properly.  Is that all you changed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI put the seat back up, of course. It\u2019s better for your back if you sit upright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it can\u2019t be good for you, squished up behind the steering column like that. What if there\u2019s an accident?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, isn\u2019t that why they invented airbags?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u201d He adjusts the seat tilt. \u201cAre you sure that that\u2019s all you changed?  I\u2019m sure it feels different from the way I left it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t touch the lumbar support.  I never touch the lumbar support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it feels funny, anyway.\u201d More fiddling and fine-tuning. \u201cCan you put your seat back? I can\u2019t see out the side with your head in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response from me is muttering along the lines of \u201cWell, if you didn\u2019t have your seat back so far, I wouldn\u2019t be in your line of sight.\u201d The journey then gets underway and the grumbling stops.<\/p>\n

My grumble when I get into the driver\u2019s seat is the reverse. \u201cYou must have arms like a ruddy gorilla.  How do you manage to reach the steering wheel properly from way back there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to sit back and relax when I drive.  You look so uptight and tense with your nose just about over the steering wheel like Mr Magoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wonder you don\u2019t fall asleep with the seat as far back as you have it.  And then you\u2019ve got the cheek to grumble at the kids for kneeing you in the back. You\u2019ve just about got your head rest up their noses.  I\u2019m sure it\u2019s bad for your back, sprawling like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are other great driving debates as well, though not all of them happen in my family.  Classics include:<\/p>\n