driver's seat

American  

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.

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Etymology

Origin of driver's seat

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

From the driver’s seat, the additional electro-torques represent a welcome bump in both torque and power for the perennially languishing Crosstrek.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was so tall that the woman in the driver’s seat sat just a little lower than Akira and Sue on the back of Dodger.

From Literature

The tourists shook off their surprise and leaned in to ooh and ahh and take pictures of the polar bear, and Owen’s dad turned around in the driver’s seat and gave Owen a quiet fist bump.

From Literature

“Back when I was a kid,” Owen’s dad said from the driver’s seat, “the Department of Natural Resources shot any bears that came into town. Now we tranquilize them and send them to Polar Bear Jail, where they stay until the sea ice forms and they’re airlifted out by helicopter and released in the wild.”

From Literature

Despite his glamorous brush with fame, Ellis has not given up the day job, he is still in the driver's seat on a London Underground train.

From BBC