Where do you put your hands on the steering wheel when driving? I noticed one person at the 10 to 2 position (oh dear), then everyone else seemed to have just their right hand on the wheel, but near the top! I thought most people (unless they're learning to drive) put their hand at the bottom.
OT: Steering wheel
Mar 21, 2016
142 Replies
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I use my left knee.
With most air bags, you better have hands below where they might go off otherwise you might get a thumb in you eye in an accident.
So the 10 to 2 position we're taught is actually dangerous?
Who's a big boy then?
You probably get away with 10 and 2. It is high noon that will get you a punch in the face. Rings and watches only make that worse. If things are getting dicey, you probably want both hands on the wheel anyway.
Mr Macaw submitted this idea :
10 and 2 o'clock on the steering wheel is old school now. Because there is a air bag in the steering wheel on all new cars, 9 and 3 o'clock would be the safest, but if you have a cell phone, don't use it while driving.
I'm left handed. Most times I have one hand at 8 o'clock. If I have two hands on the wheel, most times it is 8 & 4. rarely do I use 10 and 2.
My car will give me a warning if I have no hands on the wheel too long but it is capable of following the white lines on a curve.
10 and 2 is pretty safe. The airbag will push your hands out and back, missing your face .
10 to 2 is what I was taught a long time ago -- and when turning the wheel do not let a hand pass 12 o'clock.
Perce
Right hand at the 3 oclock position, beer in left hand.
I was taught the 10 and 2 in drivers ed in high school about 50 years ago . Now with the air bags it is the 9 and 3 position. Some of the stering wheels are made with the spokes set so you can place your hands there, or a single spoke that goes from one side to the other with holes in it for the hands.
where is the best location to install the suicide knob?
The what?
I've never heard of anyone using high noon.
In the trash
That takes bloody ages to do a manoeuvre. Full lock is normally two rotations each way, so that's 4 rotations from lock left to lock right.
And if you're cornering at high speed, you need to move the wheel quickly, not f*ck about shuffling, that's bloody dangerous.
Same here, except right handed, and possibly towards 5, not 4.
If it can steer itself, why the warning?
I can multitask.
Is that you, Jenn?
When I was younger I took some SCCA driving courses. There were 2 schools of thought from race drivers, At the time it was the UK style to only use one side of the wheel per hand, no crossover. That way both hands were on the wheel at all times. The US style was hand over hand, pretty much just using the top of the wheel. I guess times have changed.
I watched both methods and a guy who practices the 2 hand method, just going from noon to 6 on both sides can still make very fast turns but it always looked funny to me. Air bags may give a reason to use the noon to six thing.
It is sort of like a door knob that is placed on the rim of the stering wheel. You grip it with one hand and use it to turn the stering wheel. The knob will face you and is made to rotate so you can get a good grip on the wheel.
Makes it easy to back up the car and drive with one hand while drinking the beer with the other.
I think the government made it illegal in the US because it might hirt you in a crash.
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