Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
View Threaded
Sat 21 Sep 2019 16:56
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - barney100

Apparently research has shown that driving with the hands at 10 t0 2 on the steering wheel can can be dangerous. According to QI in an accident the airbag will strike your hands at 250 mph causing potential serious injuries. One injury called 'gloving' doesn't sound good. A quarter to three gets the hands out of the firing line.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Sep 2019 17:57
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - Bolt

Apparently research has shown that driving with the hands at 10 t0 2 on the steering wheel can can be dangerous. According to QI in an accident the airbag will strike your hands at 250 mph causing potential serious injuries. One injury called 'gloving' doesn't sound good. A quarter to three gets the hands out of the firing line.

I`ve read that before, but I don't like the 10to 2 way to steer anyway even though people get used to it, imo, as mentioned its dangerous in both respects due to time it takes some to steer

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Sep 2019 18:31
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - Avant

I suppose the 10 to 2 advice goes back a long way before airbags came on the scene.

I agree - quarter to 3 or often 20 to 4 suits me.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Sep 2019 19:31
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - daveyjp
I've always used quarter to 3, more comfortable and its where the cruise, radio and hands fee controls are.

On a similar note drivers are also advised to take lanyards with ID badges off when driving. No need to explain the damage which can be caused by an airbag going off and hitting a metal clip and a credit card sized piece of plastic.

Edited by daveyjp on 21/09/2019 at 19:32

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Sep 2019 19:52
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - RichT54

I have also always favoured quarter to 3, although some steering wheels have quite chunky spokes at that position making it difficult.

One thing I have noticed recently is people driving with both hands at the top of the wheel, at 5 to 1. When I see that in the mirror it doesn't give me confidence that the driver will be in full control of their vehicle and quite often they seem to be the aggressive type who drives much too close.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 21 Sep 2019 21:27
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - bathtub tom

Driving with a hand at 12-o-clock, underhand, can lead to a broken arm. Many do his to swing the wheel left, but if they need to swing right, they can't. If something happens that necessitates swerving right, they can't and if there's a collision, the airbag will snap their arm like a rotten twig!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 22 Sep 2019 00:16
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - Ian_SW

One thing I have noticed recently is people driving with both hands at the top of the wheel, at 5 to 1. When I see that in the mirror it doesn't give me confidence that the driver will be in full control of their vehicle and quite often they seem to be the aggressive type who drives much too close.

The more favoured method for the aggressive driver around here is 5 to 11, or more accurately just the right hand at the 11 o-clock position and the left hand on the gear lever. It has to be accompanied by having the back of the seat tipped right back for that full "not really in control" driving position and a stereo playing very loud dance music.

Personally, the one I find most disconcerting though is the huge number who drive with their hands at 25 past 7, particularly down the motorway. They can usually be spotted well in advance from behind by the car slowly wandering from side to side across the lane.

What's wrong, or so difficult about just holding the wheel in a sensible manner.....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 22 Sep 2019 08:27
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - gordonbennet

Some people may have been at the wheel for decades, for hours a day up to 5 or more days a week, does anyone imagine they will have been holding the wheel in the approved manner for all that time?

There will be aches and pains from years of whatever their toil may have been let alone the RSI from sitting holding the wheel as approved, in these days of power steering there isn't the need for permanent two handed steering as was once the case, there will naturally be differences in the way people hold the wheel because we're not androids, i doubt the airbag scenario enters most people's thoughts, it doesn't mine thankfully or i'd be a nervous wreck by now.

No airbag in my work vehicle anway, new 9 months ago.

Edited by gordonbennet on 22/09/2019 at 10:48

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 22 Sep 2019 10:54
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - Andrew-T

Some people may have been at the wheel for decades, for hours a day up to 5 or more days a week, does anyone imagine they will have been holding the wheel in the approved manner for all that time?

I thought the 'approved manner' used to be 10 to 2, with the wheel passed from one hand to the other while turning? I only remember seeing drivers of large vehicles like a bus doing that, never a car, it takes too long. Watching the current series of Trucking Hell, the drivers of those huge recovery vehicles steer them much like a fork-lift, with one clenched fist spinning the wheel ....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 22 Sep 2019 15:10
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - John F

Personally, the one I find most disconcerting though is the huge number who drive with their hands at 25 past 7, particularly down the motorway. They can usually be spotted well in advance from behind by the car slowly wandering from side to side across the lane.

Might be their knees, not hands.

What's wrong, or so difficult about just holding the wheel in a sensible manner.....

After half an hour or so on a m****way it's tiring, especially for pensioners. That's why I would now never have a replacement car without comfortable armrests. The only stuff stopping your arms falling off your chest is so-called 'soft tissue', a mixture of muscle and gristle. The older you get, the more achy and sensitive it becomes. Any support for it is most welcome. Personally, I prefer an alternating unilateral 2 o'clock and 7 o'clock with the steering wheel set as low as possible.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 23 Sep 2019 00:50
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - Avant

This beings to mind near-neighbours of my parents when I was growing up in the 1950s/60s: Mr Lawson used to drive their 'granny' Rover with both his hands at 12 o'clock, but when Mrs Lawson, a large lady, was driving, her hands were either at half-past six or buried in her ample lap.

Then there was the Daimler Conquest driven either by Colonel Darnley-Anderson, wearing a hat and looking fierce, or by what looked lke nobody at all. Turned out to be Mrs D-A, well under 5 feet tall and peering through the steering wheel.

Those who lament falling standards of driving can be reassured that there's nothing new under the sun.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 23 Sep 2019 13:44
Hands on steering wheel at 10 to 2 - Snakey

The distance you sit from the wheel is also a big consideration. I often see people so close to the steering wheel that an airbag would do serious damage if it went off.

Of course, smaller people will need to adjust, but surely that's part of picking a car, making sure you can get comfortable and safely seated?

I went past a BMW X6 (ugly looking thing!) a couple of weeks ago and the lady driving it looked like she was hanging from the wheel with her hands at the 10 to 2 position and her chin practically on the top of the wheel, but she must have been almost touching the steering wheel with her chest. That's not a good position!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance