Evolution brings fresh look at steering

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/04/2005 (7564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TWO of the hottest topics among driver trainers, are how to hold the steering wheel and which method of steering to use.

A great deal of evolution has resulted in a fresh look at both of these issues. Roads, vehicles and equipment have all changed drastically. Multiple lanes and exit and on-ramps have become commonplace.

Vehicles and suspensions have made huge advances. Airbags are in the middle of the steering wheel of every new vehicle sold in this country for the past several years. Power assist has become virtually standard equipment, resulting in smaller steering wheels and two turns from lock-to-lock is the norm instead of five or six.

In addition, many of today’s steering wheels are littered with redundant controls for everything from cruise control to sound systems. Front-wheel-drive drive has replaced rear-drive in the majority of vehicles and tires are much more reactive to steering inputs.

All of this has mitigated a fresh look at how we hold the wheel and steer a vehicle.

Hand position — rarely do we see both hands on the wheel. After all, it is extremely important to use one hand to hold a cup of coffee or a cellphone. It can also be used to keep the side mirror attached, the roof in place or the passenger side head restraint properly adjusted.

The only time one-handed steering is recommended is when reversing, when the driver’s body is turned in the seat allowing you to see out the rear window. When we do find both hands on the steering wheel, they are usually close together at the top or bottom of the wheel where they are pretty much useless in an emergency.

In the real world, most drivers hold the wheel with one hand — usually in a position that would completely eliminate any hope of proper control in an emergency. The single hand can usually be found in one of three spots — across the chest (right hand at 11 o’clock or left hand at one o’clock), at the bottom or in the centre.

All three variations pretty much ensure that if a rapid evasive manoeuvre was called for, the driver would not be capable of turning the wheel accordingly.

The highly popular cross-chest position not only means you can turn the wheel sufficiently in only one direction, it has the added benefit of ensuring the forearm is nicely positioned to be struck by the air bag during deployment (after the crash caused by not being able to manoeuvre), virtually guaranteeing at least a broken arm, but probably some facial damage as well.

The correct position is to have one hand on each side of the steering wheel. Where is a matter of debate, but any of the debated positions are clearly superior to what we’ve mentioned above. Balance and reactive speed are the keys.

Look at a race or rally driver and you’ll see one hand on each side of the wheel — at all times. We put one hand on each side to ensure a balance during straight-ahead driving and equality of reaction in an emergency.

When driving down the road two hands balance each other, resulting in neutral pull on the wheel. If we use one hand, the weight of that hand and arm will tend to pull down toward the bottom of the wheel, making minute but constant corrections necessary.

In an emergency, whether the instant demand is for steering to the left or right, we have the instinctive ability to push with one hand and pull with the other — a nicely weighted situation. With only one hand we can pull in one direction, but only to the bottom of that turn, limiting the range of motion and causing a less smooth response.

Now, the old method of maintaining our hands at the top of the wheel, with one in the nine or 10 o’clock position and the other at two or three o’clock has come under scrutiny for two reasons. One is that during an airbag deployment the forearms might be in the path of the bag. The other is a more esoteric study that shows this high position results in fatigue.

It argues that if the hands are maintained above the heart, the flow of blood to the hands is slightly restricted, especially for older people, causing the hands to “go to sleep” or otherwise tire.

For either or both of these reasons, current thinking is that it is best to assume a hand position at the lower portion of the wheel with one between seven and nine o’clock and the other between three and five o’clock.

This has the added benefit of being more instinctively natural and comfortable, facilitating keeping both hands on the wheel. It also keeps the arms and hands out of harm’s way during airbag deployment. Of course, the design of the wheel itself will play a role in hand position.

Whichever position selected your grip on the wheel should be gentle, not tightly grasping. Placing the hands on the outside of the rim by the fingers results in better sensitivity to input from the suspension and front wheels.

How to turn the wheel is another hot topic with plenty of advocates for one of the two commonly taught systems — shuffle or hand-to-hand steering and hand-over hand steering. Basically, the hand-over-hand steering method is still thought of as ideal for rapid evasive manoeuvres and higher speeds.

This method allows for rapid wheel movement, balanced input and awareness of the straight-ahead position. It is also useful for parking or very slow speed manoeuvres when the steering wheel must be moved through its full range. However, this method does leave the arms exposed to air bag deployment.

Hand-to-hand or push-pull steering has been developed with two factors in mind — exposure to airbag deployment and reduced mobility as we age. This method allows the driver to make both small and medium steering inputs, ranging from slight movements of less than one degree necessary to stay within a lane, to a full half-turn necessary to turn a sharp corner at slow speed or for sudden avoidance.

For slight turns, both hands can retain their grip on the wheel with the fingers and/or wrists providing the steering input. For slow speed turns, such as a right angle turn from one street to another, one hand can turn all the way through the 12 o’clock position to the other side with the other retaining contact with the wheel.

A variation of this method called shuffle steering is also used in some schools. The difference is that the hands stay in the lower portion of the wheel and the wheel is “shuffled” between them. Obviously, not as effective in severe evasive manoeuvres, but comfortable and useful for other situations.

Most driver training programs teach a variety of hand positions and steering methods. Unfortunately, some schools and most jurisdictions teach or require only one — most often because they have not kept up with the changes mentioned above.

For example, some provincial and state licensing regulations call for hand-over-hand steering to be employed during a licensing exam. They do not recognize hand-to-hand or shuffle steering. Unfortunately, this, in most cases, is because the regulations have not been updated in decades in conjunction with research and practical experience.

Regardless of method or position, two hands on the wheel are infinitely better than one, always have been and always will be.