From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishin the driving seatin the driving seatBritish English, in the driver’s seat American EnglishCONTROL controlling what happens in a situation, organization, or relationship We’re trying to put young people in the driving seat. → seat
Examples from the Corpus
in the driving seat• Back in the driving seat for the first time in 40 years the memories came flooding back.• Once Smith's penalty goal had cut the Cambridge lead to two points Oxford appeared to be in the driving seat.• Kev sat with eyes closed in the driving seat.• Bullock found himself in the driving seat after Davies was forced to play sideways out of a ditch.• It was clear that, in the early stages of embryo development, the cytoplasm is in the driving seat.• So long as the receiver is in the driving seat neither the owners nor the unsecured creditors can do much to remove him.• What in the world would the company be like in a few years' time if such people were in the driving seat? 