How do you steer.

[flybobbie]

I recently changed my hand position on steering wheel.
Always was a 3 o'clock cruising or 3 and 9 position if in town with 90 degree junction turns..no hard rule.
In fact the wheel would obscure the speedo.
Made my right hand ache.
Now gone 4 and 8 position and much easier to steer.
In fact now a joy to drive.

Have i been steering wrong all these years?

Got to give credit to a young driving instructor on YT who said drive like this for more precise steering.

Makes sense as now pushing up to 9 o'clock, rather than over 9 for minor deviations..

Now realise this is how i drive my Berlingo, 4 and 8 o'clock. Wheel is more horizontal though.

 

[Pondy]

I like 3 o'clock, it's quite quiet on the roads.
Between 3 and 9 o'clock it can be busy or quiet, so depends TBH.

I never drive between 4 and 8 o'clock. It's the busiest time, I find!

:lol: :lol:

PS. Someone needs a hobby! :lol:

 

[Marcoose]

I have a woman. She wears she trousers and does the driving.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I steer with my knees so I don’t drop my phone or spill my beer

 

[flybobbie]

I have a 3 foot fish tank with Platy fish.
Do you think they know they are trapped in a tank and hanker to be in a big lake or stream....

 

[enuff_zed]

I have a 3 foot fish tank with Platy fish.
Do you think they know they are trapped in a tank and hanker to be in a big lake or stream....

And today's award for the most obscure contribution goes too.................... :?

 

[buzyg]

I steer with my knees so I don’t drop my phone or spill my beer

Anything that works to improve those lap times. :lol:

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I steer with my knees so I don’t drop my phone or spill my beer

Anything that works to improve those lap times. :lol:

Just like playing pool in the pub - after a couple of beers, your game gets better…

 

[Pondy]

I steer with my knees so I don’t drop my phone or spill my beer

I used to have a boss (a loong time ago) who carried a thermos flask of coffee everywhere when out. He had a Jag XJ6 and would set the cruise to 95mph on the motorway, steer with his knees and pour and drink coffee while doing so. It was OK, it was the 1980s.

 

[BMWZ4MC]

I steer with my knees so I don’t drop my phone or spill my beer

I used to have a boss (a loong time ago) who carried a thermos flask of coffee everywhere when out. He had a Jag XJ6 and would set the cruise to 95mph on the motorway, steer with his knees and pour and drink coffee while doing so. It was OK, it was the 1980s.

Was it just coffee? :drinkwine:
As a teenager, I had a friend who used to roll cigarettes whilst driving. Considering it was a manual car, he did a pretty good job!

 

[Pondy]

I steer with my knees so I don’t drop my phone or spill my beer

I used to have a boss (a loong time ago) who carried a thermos flask of coffee everywhere when out. He had a Jag XJ6 and would set the cruise to 95mph on the motorway, steer with his knees and pour and drink coffee while doing so. It was OK, it was the 1980s.

Was it just coffee? :drinkwine:
As a teenager, I had a friend who used to roll cigarettes whilst driving. Considering it was a manual car, he did a pretty good job!

When I was 19 I had an accident at work and sliced my left forearm open to the bone. For three months, while it healed, I had no feeling in my left arm or hand. I got bored of sitting around doing nothing, so after a few days I taught myself to drive my Transit with just my right arm/ hand. It was easy, apart from you had to make sure you were in the right gear before turning and slowing at roundabouts, etc. I did that for 3 months.

I am left handed, so other things were more interesting to master! :lol: :lol:

 

[BMWZ4MC]

When I was 19 I had an accident at work and sliced my left forearm open to the bone. For three months, while it healed, I had no feeling in my left arm or hand. I got bored of sitting around doing nothing, so after a few days I taught myself to drive my Transit with just my right arm/ hand. It was easy, apart from you had to make sure you were in the right gear before turning and slowing at roundabouts, etc. I did that for 3 months.

Sounds nasty….

I am left handed, so other things were more interesting to master! :lol: :lol:

Sounds nastier!

I presume once you’d found somewhere to balance the magnifying glass, you managed to teach yourself to use the forceps (tweezers) with your right hand? :lol:

 

[enuff_zed]

[ref]BMWZ4MC[/ref], now I have to wipe up all the tea I just spat onto my laptop.

 

[buzyg]

When I was 19 I had an accident at work and sliced my left forearm open to the bone. For three months, while it healed, I had no feeling in my left arm or hand. I got bored of sitting around doing nothing, so after a few days I taught myself to drive my Transit with just my right arm/ hand. It was easy, apart from you had to make sure you were in the right gear before turning and slowing at roundabouts, etc. I did that for 3 months.

Sounds nasty….

I am left handed, so other things were more interesting to master! :lol: :lol:

Sounds nastier!

I presume once you’d found somewhere to balance the magnifying glass, you managed to teach yourself to use the forceps (tweezers) with your right hand? :lol:

:evil: :lol:

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Apologies for the departure from the above satire, but in response to the original poster...

Great to have found something that works for you, the very fact that you've researched and tried such things demonstrates it's extremely likely that you are a more attentive and capable driver than most and are well-equipped to deal with whatever the road throws at you.

From a car control perspective, the 'correct' way to steer, taught to me by a former F1 test driver and reinforced by a GB Rally winner is 9 and 3, push rather than pull and hands only touch the wheel in one place (no shuffling). This has over the years held me in good stead, with one of the key outcomes being that you always know where center is. It can take some getting used to, but practiced daily it soon becomes second nature and makes driving above the limits of grip (and/or dealing with emergency situations) easier for most.

Firm caveat of there are far better drivers than me that use different techniques, but this works for me as a hobbyist and most skilled racing drivers.

 

[enuff_zed]

Apologies for the departure from the above satire, but in response to the original poster...

Great to have found something that works for you, the very fact that you've researched and tried such things demonstrates it's extremely likely that you are a more attentive and capable driver than most and are well-equipped to deal with whatever the road throws at you.

From a car control perspective, the 'correct' way to steer, taught to me by a former F1 test driver and reinforced by a GB Rally winner is 9 and 3, push rather than pull and hands only touch the wheel in one place (no shuffling). This has over the years held me in good stead, with one of the key outcomes being that you always know where center is. It can take some getting used to, but practiced daily it soon becomes second nature and makes driving above the limits of grip (and/or dealing with emergency situations) easier for most.

Firm caveat of there are far better drivers than me that use different techniques, but this works for me as a hobbyist and most skilled racing drivers.

I can understand keeping your hands fixed on a race car where it's only about a turn lock to lock, but I can't see it working on a family car in Tesco's car park?

 

[flybobbie]

Steering wheels are various. Small diameter or large.
How much assist provided.
What angle to the driver.
Seat upright or laid back.
Hand or arm strength.

 

[flybobbie]

If hands is at 4, i find right hand is pushing easier to the 3 o'clock posn.
Now at a tighter turn now pushing through 3 o'clock seems easier all the way to the 12 o'clock posn..
Rather than starting at 3 posn.
Also at 4 my elbow rests easier on door rest.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

I can understand keeping your hands fixed on a race car where it's only about a turn lock to lock, but I can't see it working on a family car in Tesco's car park?

I didn't explain very well, you do release the wheel when you go past 180* of steering, but you replace your hand on the same place on the wheel that you released it with a hand over hand technique. It won't pass a driving test, but the key idea is that you're used your hands always being in the same place on the wheel, so you know where center is.

Unless you're exceptionally good, it's difficult once things get past 180* but the general principle and muscle memory tends to give you a better chance of collecting up a slide.

 

[Matt Scarbro]

Tried to snip some frames from a vid to provide some visual aids:

Steering, pushing with right hand


Countersteering, still 9 and 3


Approaching 180* with left hand, going hand over hand


Now at ~300* of steering, right hand has regathered at 3, left is regathering at 9


Then reverse the process to unwind the lock... throughout steering and counter steering, through muscle memory I broadly know where center is.

I try to do it all the time, fail at times, am lazy at times, but generally never lose the wheel, it has served me very well, you can cheat a bit once you've got the feel of it, especially when you know what the car is going to do.