driver's seat

noun

1. the seat from which a vehicle is operated.
2. a position of power, dominance, control, or superiority:

   After the election the Democrats were back in the driver's seat.

Word History and Origins

Origin of driver's seat¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The pill-shaped vehicle is essentially one giant cabin on wheels, featuring two spacious benches facing each other and no middle or driver’s seat.

From Los Angeles Times

Creating a will is your way to get back into the driver’s seat, so you know when you’re gone from this mortal plane that your wishes are being carried out how you want them to be.

From Salon

Minutes before she was due to get back in her car after visiting a friend, a bomb fell through the roof above the driver’s seat, ripping through one side of the vehicle and leaving it a mangled mess of metal, plastic and glass.

From BBC

After the crash he said he looked to his right and saw the driver’s seat was empty.

From BBC

He said: "Reform has won the trust of the next generation. We are the future, we want our country back on track, rescuing it from the unpatriotic minority and put the patriotic majority back in the driver's seat."

From BBC