<p>DS is 16 and got his learner’s permit at the beginning of the summer. He’s been practice driving in the family car–our 2002 Honda CRV. He’s also 6’1" and a large guy, with a size 13 shoe. He’s been having some problems getting comfortable using the pedals and making his legs fit in the well space. His knees are pretty much up against the dashboard next to the steering wheel.</p>
<p>My concern is that it’s not safe for him to be driving this car if he can’t move his legs freely and comfortably. I think maybe he’s not getting enough leverage to work the pedals safely, etc. Plus driving for any length of time is just going to be uncomfortable.</p>
<p>So his dad and I have begun talking about what to do next. My dream situation, before he actually started driving, was that he would “inherit” the CRV when he got his license and I would get to buy my midlife crisis car (a Mini Cooper–lol). But we are thinking that maybe we should get him a different car to drive, maybe trade in the CRV for something else used but bigger? </p>
<p>I should say that we live in a major metropolitan area and he doesn’t “need” a car for most transportation–his school has no parking lot to speak of and is in an urban neighborhood with limited street parking. His driving himself around at this point is more a matter of parental convenience than need, at least until he goes to college. Plus he won’t really have his license until the winter at the earliest.</p>
<p>I’m just wondering–am I right to worry about the safety issues around his inability to stretch his legs out while driving? Should we look for a larger car for him? Trade in my dreams of my little red mini with the convertible top and the white racing stripes because we can’t afford another used car for him and car payments for me? </p>
<p>Has anybody else had the problem of an unreasonably large child and a reasonably sized car? :P</p>
<p>Well, it’s kind of like wearing high heels while driving. You <em>know</em> that the driving is different when you’ve got the 3" heels on because of different pressure and leverage as opposed to flat shoes. But you do it anyway, figuring that as long you somehow can handle the pedals and just be careful, you’ll be fine, right?</p>
<p>Have you spoken with his driving instructor on how his ability to use the pedal may affect his road test performance?</p>
<p>If he won’t really need the license until he goes away to college, what is the big hurry? Let him practice with this car - he’s going to be driving a lot of dinky cars in his lifetime after all!</p>
<p>FWIW Happykid has had her learner’s permit for more than two years. We are a one-car family in an area with excellent public transportation. I figure that every day she’s not fully licensed is a day I save on car insurance.</p>
<p>I just traded in my similar aged CRV for a convertible mini. Don’t give up on the mini. So I like your idea of trading in the CRV for a similarly priced car that suits your son’s size better (if it turns out to be a hazard).</p>
<p>Same issue with our driver-in-training, who’s 6’3.5" and wears a size 15 shoe!</p>
<p>We have a 2000 CR-V – same issue, plus it’s a stick shift. We put him in the minivan, which helped a lot. (It’s also a 2000, so it’s not going to suffer too much from his learning curve.) We also took him with us when we went car shopping recently to make sure he could drive whatever small, fuel-efficient automatic we purchased. He really likes driving the Prius and can move the seat far enough back to fit comfortably. He is not taking a car to college, but wants to be able to drive when he’s home.</p>
<p>S has commented that he can’t feel the pedals as well in the boots he wears to work, so he only drives in sneakers.</p>
<p>Both kids are happy to take public transit and do not want cars at school with them. More $$ towards the EFC! ;)</p>
<p>Haha totally opposite problem here. My D is tiny, and even has proportionally short legs compared to her height. Her feet don’t reach the floor or pedals in my minivan, so she can’t drive it. She can drive her Dad’s Hyundai (not surprising since she and the car are both Korean, lol). She recently bought a Hyundai Accent (she affectionately calls it her “Korean accent”) and it fits her well.
As to your son, I would be concerned about checking his safety were he to have an accident. Are his legs cramped enough that they would be more likely to be seriously injured? I might have someone knowledgable (driving instructor maybe?) check to see if he’s able to drive safely.</p>
<p>My son is 6"2’ + and he drives his cousins CRV all of the time with no problem, maybe it’s the newer ones with less leg room. Next time I talk to him I’ll ask him if he’s cramped</p>
<p>The steering wheel tilt can be adjusted. Maybe that would help. H is a little over 6 feet tall with a size 13 shoe and has found a comfortable position in the driver’s side. He doesn’t like the passenger side, though.</p>
<p>The only person I know who had an issue with fitting in the car was a 6’8 young man. His parents did give him the mini van to drive for awhile. He spent a lot of time at car dealerships trying out cars when he first looked for his own non-minivan.</p>
<p>I am having a hard time understanding how a 6’1 person (normal male height in my world LOL) wouldn’t fit in a normal car – so I would have the issue evaluated by a professional instructor.</p>
<p>Well my 6’3" son is cramped in both our Pathfinder and Odyssey with seats all the way back. I think it isn’t necessarily just height, but leg length.</p>
<p>I think mamom may have hit the nail on the head. My S is 6’2" with a size 14 foot and he drives a Civic, and has driven a CRV, with no problems. His height is in his body though, only has a 34" inseam, which is short for his height.</p>
<p>It’s NOT all about height…leg length is key. I have a big son (6’4) and I’m tall too, almost six feet. My legs are as long if not longer than his…and we BOTH have trouble in Honda’s. Not just CRVs…not sure about the newer ones. The seats are set too low, which is part of the problem. It’s no fun to drive with knees up to your chin! </p>
<p>Toyotas are fine…and you can get cheap used ones. My son has a very old Lexus E300. Got it for under 4K. Runs like a dream…and is pretty big. You should trade that old CRV for something more roomy. In addition to safety issues, long drives are TORTURE in cars that don’t fit right.</p>
<p>If you have a body shop nearby, you might look into having them position the seat rails back slightly, allowing the seat to move further back. The seat behind the driver will have virtually no leg room, but your son’s knees will be spared if he is in a front end collision! The caveat here is that there might be a slight trade off with side impact safety. The men in my family are all VERY long legged and this works well for them.</p>
<p>DS is definitely “long in the leg”, thinking about his proportions I think part of the issue is he has really long thighs, which put his knee joint way forward. He’s a big kid, but not 400 lbs. </p>
<p>He’s also just a new driver and not used to the feel of the pedals, space, etc; he’s complained that he doesn’t like driving in his solid shoes because he can’t feel as much as he does in his sandals (this will be a problem in a couple of months when it’s too cold for him to wear sandals!) He will get used to that, and there is something to be said for him learning to deal with uncomfortable cars. I just want to make sure that the kinesthetics (wrong word) aren’t working to his disadvantage when driving. I hadn’t even really thought about the position of his legs in crash. </p>
<p>CountingDown, it’s funny you should say that about the Prius, the driving school we used had Priuses and he really liked driving it, says he had more room in that than the CRV.</p>
<p>Oh, and LKADmom, we might look into that if the CRV is really going to be “his” car (and only his car), but until then he still needs to fit in the back seat occasionally (atm the CRV is our only family vehicle) and if it gets repositioned too far back neither he nor his (also tall for her age) sister will fit back there–it’s kinda cramped now.</p>