Taking the driving seat, change gear after a short distance (2,6)
I believe the answer is:
in charge
'taking the driving seat' is the definition.
(someone in the driving seat is in charge)
'change gear after a short distance' is the wordplay.
'change' indicates anagramming the letters.
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a short distance' becomes 'inch' (inch is a unit of length).
'gear' with letters rearranged gives 'arge'.
'arge' put after 'inch' is 'IN CHARGE'.
(Other definitions for in charge that I've seen before include "At the helm" , "as a responsible person" , "Commanding" , "position of authority" , "Taking command" .)