system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Is there a practical reason for a car's driver to be on the side rather than the middle?
gpt
Others have mentioned the proximity to the door. The only thing their answers don't explain is why cars with front bench seats (which are rare these days, but used to be common) don't have the driver in the middle. This is because of a couple of reasons. First, the steering column. This is a relatively straight piece of metal connecting the steering wheel to the steering rack (or in older vehicles, the steering box). This box needs to be on one side, because the engine is in the middle. The other reason is that older cars were predominantly rear wheel drive, which means the transmission sits between the driver's and passenger's feet. This means that if the driver was in the middle, log room would be minimal, and there would be no room for pedals.