Seat and mirrors — Kansas Permit Test

A Kansas driver should always adjust the seat and mirrors before starting to drive, so they can see clearly and have full control of the foot pedals and steering wheel.

Reaching for a mirror at speed takes a hand off the wheel and eyes off the road. Doing it first costs nothing.

You should always adjust your seat and mirrors before you start to drive.

A Kansas driver's foot should be able to pivot smoothly from brake to accelerator while the heel is kept on the floor.

Lifting the whole foot between pedals wastes time you may not have. The heel stays down so the foot swings.

Your foot should be able to pivot smoothly from brake to accelerator while the heel is kept on the floor.

The top of a Kansas driver's steering wheel should be no higher than the top of the shoulders and below chin level, with 10 inches between the body and the bottom of the wheel.

Too close and the air bag hits you before it slows you down. Ten inches is the room it needs to work.

There should be 10 inches between your body and the bottom of the steering wheel.

A Kansas head restraint should be adjusted so it contacts the back of your head and not below the level of your ears.

Set too low it becomes a pivot for the neck rather than a support. That is what causes the injury it is meant to stop.

the head restraints should be adjusted so the head restraint contacts the back of your head and not below the level of your ears.

Head restraints are designed to prevent whiplash, which is neck pain that may occur in a crash where force moves the neck beyond its normal range of motion.

A rear-end hit throws the head back before the body follows. The restraint stops the head going too far.

Head restraints are designed to prevent whiplash if you are hit from behind.

A Kansas driver should adjust the rearview mirror so that it frames the rear window and shows traffic flow behind the vehicle.

The mirror has one job, which is the whole rear window. A mirror aimed at the back seat shows you nothing useful.

Adjust your rearview mirror so that it frames the rear window.

Under the traditional Kansas mirror setting, the left side view mirror is adjusted to see the left edge of the vehicle and the right side view mirror to see the right edge.

Seeing your own car in the mirror gives you a reference point. It also leaves a blind spot, which is why the other setting exists.

adjust the left side view mirror to see the left edge of the vehicle and adjust the right-side view mirror to see the right edge of the vehicle.

The enhanced Kansas mirror setting adds 12 to 16 degrees of additional viewing area to each side of the vehicle, although the driver will not see the sides of their own vehicle.

Giving up the view of your own car buys a wider view of the road. That is where the cars you cannot see are hiding.

this adjustment adds 12 to 16 degrees additional viewing area to each side of the vehicle.

Passenger vehicle side view mirrors are not designed for backing the vehicle.

The mirrors miss the ground right behind the bumper. Turning and looking is the only way to see a child there.

Passenger vehicle side view mirrors are not designed for backing the vehicle.

When does Kansas say to adjust the seat and mirrors?

Before you start to drive at all. Reaching for a mirror at speed takes a hand off the wheel and eyes off the road. Doing it first costs nothing. Kansas Driving Handbook, p.26: “You should always adjust your seat and mirrors before you start to drive.”