what is the best position to hold a steering wheel on a car and the best method to turn the wheel?

Question

different methods include the hand over hand method OR

the push-pull or shuffle method. Each has some benefits but one method is usually preferred by most people. Which method do you use and why??

Answer 1

My preferred position to hold: hands at 9:30 and 2:30 (if the wheel were a clock)

My preferred method to turn the wheel is to push down with the hand on the side that I'm turning, move the opposite hand so that it's back around 9 or 3 pushing it up, and then move the first hand so that its near the top of the wheel (11 or 1 o'clock) and start pulling it down. It goes much faster than it sounds and you maintain a good grip and control throughout the turn without pausing nor thinking about it.

I'm not sure what the difference is between the push-pull and shuffle methods you named.

Answer 2

Well now...lets see. I am sure it was a beraucratic think tank that posted the rule that we were all taught during 9th grade drivers education. Firmly grasp the steering wheel with your hands at the "ten" and "two" position as if the hands of a clock.Never use your left foot to break. You should use the right foot for both acceleration and deceleration.( poor left foot...all the other limbs got to do something and all it gets to do is sit and watch ). When turning the vehicle , and only after receiving the right of way...you should slowly begin to steer your car in the direction you are heading. The best method is to cross 'hand over hand' until you are clear of any other vehicles or obsticles along your side. Be sure to watch your blind side. After you have safely maneuvered the turn you should slowly begin to straighted the vehicle by reversing the hand over hand method. Never accelerate during a turn. I'll tell ya,,,I am convinced that a lot of people were refused a drivers license for scaring the daylights out of the examiner because they believed that was a good manner of driving. I imagine that back in the day...like when only 84 vehicles cruised the roadways of America ( all 16 miles of them ...from coast to coast ), that this may have been an effective method because those people must have felt like George Jetson. Can you imagine how we'd feel if one day the little Jetson car became a reality ? We would probably have some nutty driving methods too, but the hand over hand...etc , that is appearantly a blanket approach for a regulation of proper driving techniques and is rediculous. If people actually drove that way then a lot of people wouldn't make it home. My personal choice is that of the casual observer. One hand firmly gripping the wheel with the other taking care of any other necessities as I smile and nod to the other passing motorists. No matter the direction or path taken... when making a turn....I become the car ,or at least an active part in its motion. The palm of my hand pressed against the wheel ...I rotate it in the direction I wish to travel and the speed of my van will determine the revolutions necessary to safely complete the turn . Using "the force" , I enter the turn. My mind automatically switches into some sort of turbo mathematical mode. Within a split second...equations are hypothesised , formulas are sent to the lab and the results returned with approval. Goemetry , calculous , trigonometry and algebraic equations are completed with precise perfection. If all of the calculations of judgement are true and the force is strong then a miraculous transformation begins to take effect. Without any mental effort , my tendons and muscles will relax just a bit. As if , on a magic carpet , my van begins to straighten ever so slightly. The steering wheel reverses its direction all the while only vageuly touching the skin on the palm of my hand. The revolutionary spin increases its speed until the mission is accomplished and I have cleared the turning radius zone . I have somehow traveled that short distance at the will of a metaphysical force. With only the initial effort of turning on the signal and rotating the wheel....a spiritual plane was crossed....taking me along for the journey. What if somehow...a time and space continueum were breached during that right turn .Like a skipping record album. Could I have been trapped in some senseless vortex ? Caught in the proverbial traffic circle as was Chevy Chase in the movie European Vacation. With no one willing to let me change lanes and get out ?I think I will choose a different route home next time.

Answer 3

Well in my drivers ed class they taught us to put our hands at the 9-3 (if you were looking at a clock) As for the turning and grassping the wheel, I do what feels comfortable, and it depends on the driving conditions of the road. Sometimes I am eating or doing something else. Go by your own judgement and what is comfortable to you, not what everyone else is doing! Thats what will get you in an accident!

Answer 4

hands at the 2 &10 o'clock position. using hand over hand.