How should we hold the steering wheel

Site Admin Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Posts: 485

sriram wrote:

yeah in automatic gear system u have both the hands to control steering.

yep! so no excuse to drive with one hand...! Very Happy

Member Joined: Jan 12, 2010 Posts: 41

Remember, every second you are behind the wheel you never know when something unusual is going to happen and you owe it to yourself, the other passengers in your vehicle, and pedestrians as well as all the other drivers on the road to keep those hands on the wheel and get a grip on safe driving!

Site Admin Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Posts: 485

sriram wrote:

Remember, every second you are behind the wheel you never know when something unusual is going to happen and you owe it to yourself, the other passengers in your vehicle, and pedestrians as well as all the other drivers on the road to keep those hands on the wheel and get a grip on safe driving!

...'get a grip on safe driving' I like that...yes!

Member Joined: Feb 03, 2010 Posts: 19

Always hold the steering wheel loosely. never hold it tight. you will feel pain in long driving. And also easier to steer when you hold loose.

Site Admin Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Posts: 485

I wouldn't say hold it tight, but firmly for sure. Just for better control in case of an emergency.

Master Driver Joined: Mar 27, 2010 Posts: 209

Holding the wheel is done with both hands: Take one off and you have just gave up 50% of your control. Should an emergency suddenly occur due to this fact, you will have to put the hand back on the wheel, which will only hinder the ability of the other hand to steer the car by applying a shock against the wheel.

Additionally, gripping the wheel with both hands is less tiring. With one hand, the weight of the hands acts on the wheel and makes the driver work his back muscles to neutralise this effect. Gripping the wheel directly ontop is never good and results in a twist of the spine and potential of injury in an accident.

About the correct grip -- there is only one -- 9 and 3. Both sides of the wheel, as far from each other as possible. This gives you the best control over the car, and gives you a leverage of 250 degrees each way during evasive braking. Your hands are directly in front of the wipers and signals to allow the fingers to operate them and the hands are away from the airbag.

Holding the wheel at 10 to-2 is a practice of old cars, where the rim was too large for gripping at 9 and 3, as it would place the hands way apart. With adjustable steering wheels, make sure that the wheel is adjusted to be lower than your shoulder by 5cm and hook the thumbs in the designated locations over the flat of the wheel. This will also make 9 to-3 more comfortable.

The grip of the wheel -- as loose as possible without losing control over the rim. This allows for less tention and fatigue and a greater awareness to the grip levels of the tires.

About steering technique -- as presented in the British video -- the suggested steering technique there is Pull-Push or more exactly shuffle steering. While it is a good steering habit, it is far from ideal: You break your steering input into several small hand movements, decreasing overall smoothness, leverage and comfort. Additionally, by applying power when pushing the hand up and when pulling towards the knees, we loose some of our nervous sensitivity and fine motor skill when steering the car.

The correct steering technique is this: By preparing the pulling hand (the hand in the direction of the turn) before the corner, we are able to use the more tender muscles of our hand, and also return to the 9 to-3 position after we feed in the nessecary amount of steering lock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLw4N5V7DrQ

Site Admin Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Posts: 485

wow Astraist! That's pretty impressive I must say..... Shocked

(though what language is that video in?)

Master Driver Joined: Mar 27, 2010 Posts: 209

The video was originaly made in Hebrew. For further explainations of this subject, you can read this article of mine:

http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Steering_techniques

Site Admin Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Posts: 485

I read the article, it's great stuff! So detailed and well explained. Are you a professional driving instructor?

Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 1:46 pm

Beware of professional driving instructors MOW, when you are a pretty girl they tend to hold you ankle instead of steering wheel Wink

(j/k Astraist, nothing personal Smile

)

Site Admin Joined: Jan 06, 2010 Posts: 485

* cough cough...

Nevermind Astraist...you just carry on with the tutorials! Very Happy

Member Joined: Sep 15, 2010 Posts: 27

@dfunzy

Thanks for the video. I was looking for one like this in Youtube. But didn't find one. Anyway I saved this link.