Close-sitters

Ok........so I'm out driving yesterday & I look over at the car next to me. Why oh why do people sit so freaking close to the steering wheel???? It just boggles my mind. I can't see that it would be comfy at all. These "close-sitters" seem so cramped & unrelaxed. I just don't get it. I'm a short person & sometimes I have to adjust my seat but there is ample room between me & the steering wheel. Do they think they will react any faster if something crazy happens? I don't like my legs being all squished up switching my foot back & forth between the gas & the brake pedal. Hmmmmm..........guess I'll never know.