Back Seat Rider

I have many occasions to travel by car in spite of not owning one- I just always sit in a passenger seat instead of the driver's seat. Providing that it's not a massive old van, one is left with three basic possibilities. There is what they call 'shotgun', after the old frontier precaution of having a man sitting by the driver ready with a shotgun to defend the wagon from whatever manner of hostile force. People call out 'Shotgun!" when they want to sit there, but never come through on that essential function. No one really means much of what they say anymore.

That seat is definitely in the greatest demand, but may or may not be the best one. For the tall or large passenger it probably is, although being alone in the back seat may afford the opportunity to stretch out. The front passenger seat also ensures that you are close enough to someone- the driver- for conversation. Should there be multiple people in the back seat it amounts to a wash in that regard unless there is a clear difference between the conversation in the front and that in the back. On a long trip some may be sleeping in back, and it's not much fun to be in close proximity to that. Also worth considering is the car's capacity for properly distributing both conditioned air and the sound from the stereo. Both are indisputably essential.

Now, while I can't say whether the front or the back is best for a passenger, what no one can deny is that you don't want the middle. At the risk of sounding course and sexist, I'll just call that seat what everyone knows it is called: 'bitch'. It may not be appropriate to call it so, but I've never believed that live improves when one rejects reality. The point is that the seat in question is uncomfortable in myriad ways. It starts with the considerable difficulty in finding both ends of the seatbelt and joining them. It continues with a squeeze that doesn't end until the ride finishes.

Now, I'm describing the seat as it exists in your typical sedan or similar vehicle, but I happen to have had the experience of riding in the equivalent seat that is found in a pickup truck with no crew cab. You're alone back there, but it's barely a seat and I'd question whether there's enough space back there for a sack of groceries. I don't recommend it. Worth trying once though is that exotic seat, the front middle. It may not be to anyone's liking exactly, but it surely must be done before one dies, like sweat potato fries or a midnight screening of the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. Not necessary is the improvised seat favored by kidnappers for their victims, the trunk.