It’s gotta be tail between the legs… hole in the seat would be cumbersome to feed your tail through, a slot to one side would compromise crash safety. Up sounds like you’d slide around in the car seat when cornering.
Chairs evolved out of human's tendency to sit cross-legged on rocks and dangle ther feet off the edge. Animals don't do that, they sit like 🐕🦺 so the "rocks" they can dangle their feet off of aren't flat squares, but more heart-shaped.
They also tend to lean to the side, not backwards so we have "shoulder rests" instead of "backrests", which leaves ample space for the tail, but they tend to tuck it in when it dangles awkwardly so we have "tail rests" instead of "footrests"
at leasts when they're trying to concentrate. When relaxing, dangling awkwardly is PREFERRED, so for a movie theater, instead of "tail rests" you get a "tail guard" so the row behind you doesn't get whipped by your wagging when allowing the tail to dangle
Having driven while wearing a bodysuit and tail, I put it off to the side next to the door, being careful to move the tail out of the way when closing the door
I think the answer is that we're not supposed to question it, but like imagining how pants and other such things work I always just imagined there'd be tail holes in everything.
Makes the most sense, especially in settings that have to accommodate for a wide variety of tails.
Though I will say that tail on the side is always how I imagined an anthro would sit on seats not specially designed for people with tails. I think this is how it was done in TES 4 and maybe 5 with the animations, or in some game, but I can't fully remember. Seen it before though.
im imagining tail to either side, and it becomes a pain and soreness issue when driving for long periods or for work. like how the left knee can get fucked up from just staying at a slightly bent angle and not moving while propped up on the wheel hump
Upper right, but rather than a hole, more like a slot with the open end facing the door to avoid having to thread thick or bushy tails through a hole.
Prehensile tails might thrn be tucked under the seat, whereas others might droop down into the legspace behind them
I have pondered the same thing but with Avaians, my only solution would be to have car seats have a hole in the back similar to these chairs— I feel like the other options are painful or inconvenient for different tail types
this may be a tad random but I've been trying to spread the word about https://glaze.cs.uchicago.edu to other artist, its a way to hinder the progress of generative a.i. and gives at least some protection to the pieces we post online. (0>0)/
Tails seem to be pretty flexible (at least with cats?) so maybe the tail hugs around the body. Or choice 1. I feel like in a society of animals they'd have a lot of chairs like that.
Behind the back would probably be quite uncomfortable (especially for thick or fluffy tails), but it seems like that would be the safest option in case of an accident. Maybe the seat has a groove in the back to give some space?
Between the legs is probably the most comfortable, since most dogs sit with their tail going under their butt. It wouldn’t have to drape over the leg, though. It could just go down in front of the seat or pop out under one leg.
Thick scalie tails and avian tails are a different matter entirely.
a lot of people are forgetting that cars didn't always have individual seats for the driver and passenger. With a bench seat having a gap through which to easily pass a tail would be trivial. In my size-difference universe benches and sofas are a lot more common than individual seats anyway
I imagine family vehicles and other utilitarian cars would do tail hole, or a side cutout to accommodate nonstandard tails such as reptiles, and sports cars would have a channel up the middle for the tail of space was limited
have you seen Freefall (webcomic by Mark Stanley)? He proposes spacesuits will evolve to simply not have separate legs, since the ability to pin something down with a foot isn't very useful in zero-gee, and to push off you use both legs together. This creates a box-like bottom with plenty tail space
I'd think it would fall asleep.
Short drive, I'd do under and out the middle as long as it's not longer than my legs.
Med drive into work, to the side somewhere.
Long drive, I'd want that seat mod to go out the bottom. But then I'd worry about Lumbar support.
Option two and four would be uncomfortable or even painful after a little while. I'd say 1 is the best, although they'd need to be careful with the person sitting behind them, and vice versa.
Good thing of it? Tail brushing / care while driving, sounds relaxing.
Seat is made with a crease for tucking tail to the side and around. Like the mid back area sticks out a bit more and the lower part pushes in so no pressure on the connection of tail.
my guess is the cars would have a hole cut out of the seat for tails, now if you are in the back seat I have no idea what you do, I guess your tail is in the trunk
I feel like it would either go to the side or between the legs since I have seen actual animals sit with their tales this way. Animals, at least dogs and cats, don't like their tales put through things or pushed awkwardly against their backs. At least that's what I think.
Extrapolating from how animals sit on their hindquarters, it's safe to assume it's closest to option 3, with an honorable mention for an option 5( out to the side like option 3 but draped over the lap.
I say to the side, probably with a groove to make tucking them easier one way or the other, but fancier cars would have a hole or adjustable opening for tails.
I always thought side, but through the seat seems like a logical design choice. Like most seats would have a angled top support frame with an opening in between for different tail types.
Look at your pet cat. Look at them when they lie on their back or side. Putting tail to the side or underneath works fine when lying on their back on a cushion. Not painful at all.
Bar-stool-height seats in vans might make the most sense, but out of those four options, since a tail extends from your spine, #4 (out front) would be the most comfortable. In fact, that's how most animals' tails naturally lay when sitting on their backside.
Tail between the legs is the only anatomically plausible solution here if we assume that the seat is unchanged. But in an anthropomorphic world, the seat would, undoubtedly, be differently shaped compared to what we have as tailless humans.
Comments
On twitter, GatoPaint said to assume humans never existed. Thought you'd be interested in my answer: 🧵
easy
Driver: *happy tail wags* 😊
Backseat passenger: 😫
Makes the most sense, especially in settings that have to accommodate for a wide variety of tails.
Prehensile tails might thrn be tucked under the seat, whereas others might droop down into the legspace behind them
tail go to shadow realm equip with the driver seat!
Roos and gators can't fit their tails in spaces as easily as cats.
I think between the seat and back would make the most sense and safest without getting in anyone's way
(Sorry had to make the pun)
Btw yeah! I'm opting for the 1st and its variations!
Thick scalie tails and avian tails are a different matter entirely.
Thanks!
After some thought, they decided to just remove the tail instead.
Maybe car seats would attach to the pillars bench style with just an open slot all the way across where the lumbar support would've been.
Okay I've officially put too much thought into this.
There can also be multiple options. One can have a seat in an older car when they had fewer regulations.
TAIL TRENCH.
Either a literal gap behind the seat, or the backrest has padding that ends a few inches over the seat leaving a gap.
Short drive, I'd do under and out the middle as long as it's not longer than my legs.
Med drive into work, to the side somewhere.
Long drive, I'd want that seat mod to go out the bottom. But then I'd worry about Lumbar support.
Good thing of it? Tail brushing / care while driving, sounds relaxing.