3 days ago
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In the past, learner drivers were taught to drive with their hands in the 10 o’clock and two o’clock positions – but is that still the ‘right’ way to do it?
While '10 and 2' might have been the favoured position by driving instructors in years gone by, experts today now say motorists should ditch this style and instead adopt the position of '9 and 3'.
So which is best? We explore, and also find out what your driving position says about you.
What is the best position to hold the steering wheel?
On this point everyone has a view, and even what they say they do is probably not how they’re holding it in reality – with some people driving with one hand on the wheel at the top, two hands together at the bottom or even crossed over.
The two positions which are the most common and recommended, though, are 10 and 2, or 9 and 3.
Is '10 and 2' good for driving?
Driving with your hands at 10 o’clock and two o’clock has been taught to learner drivers for many years.
This is because it was thought that having your hands gripping the wheel at a higher point gave you more control and was therefore safer.
However, according to Corporate Driver Training Australia, among others, new technologies, such as airbags and power-assisted steering, have changed the game and now 9 and 3 is considered better.
“With the invention of airbags, if a driver has their hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and an accident occurs, the airbags can cause injury. Drivers can find their hands twist awkwardly, breaking faces, thumbs, bones or otherwise causing injury,” it advises.
“The idea of driving with hands at 10 and 2 was also before power steering. Originally steering wheels needed more force to turn, and pulling down was the best and most efficient way to achieve this.”
Silvia Morris, the RACV's Driver Education and Development Manager, also told Drive that "While the traditional ’10 and 2’ placement was once the recommended hand position on the steering wheel for motorists, that has changed with the introduction of airbags.
"Holding the steering wheel too high can increase the risk of injury to your hands, arms and face if an airbag deploys in a collision."
Is 9 and 3 better than 10 and 2?
According to some training experts, 9 and 3 is the better position for your hands on the steering wheel, because it gives you more control of the vehicle, especially when a quick steering input is needed, it allows for increased safety for the airbag to be deployed, and it’s also more natural and comfortable.
And not only that, but the old-fashioned feeding through or ‘push-pull’ method too has fallen out of favour, instead being replaced by holding onto the wheel and letting your arms cross over each other while making a turn.
“Don't ever let the wheel slip out of your hand, always maintain control of it. So in other words, never let it slip through your hands, even in the car park,” Cameron Wearing, Director of the Australian Driving Institute, told media including Drive.
“Never let it spin back to the centre again. You've got to be fully in control when you're manoeuvring it back every time.”
Reasons for having your hands at 9 and 3 can also include being able to make the greatest turn before reaching the steering wheel lock point, and being able to more easily reach the indicators without removing your hands from the wheel.
But the main reason, says Wearing, is stability.
“There's physics behind it, you can't get any more stable. So stability is king. If you’ve got the centre of the steering wheel and a hand on either side, that is theoretically the most balanced and also where the most torque is available to make a turn,” he said.
“The higher you go on the wheel, the faster your steering input becomes. So that's actually frightfully dangerous. From our observations, the worst possible scenario is one hand on the top of the wheel. That is the best way to destabilise a car.”
"The RACV recommends that motorists hold the steering wheel at the ‘9 and 3’ position, which can not only provide more stability, but also allows for easier access to indicators and wipers," Morris told us.
"There are benefits to learning both the push-pull and hand-over-hand steering techniques when learning how to drive.
"The push-pull is generally safer in most situations, as it minimises the risk of hands getting caught or injured by the airbag if it deploys.
"The hand-over-hand method is a more efficient way of steering and can be useful in certain situations, such as when performing low-speed manoeuvres or sharp turns."
Is it illegal to drive with one hand?
Common sense should dictate that it’s a bad idea to drive with one hand on the wheel, but in some cases, you could find yourself falling foul of the law if you do it.
While it’s unlikely you’ll get fined specifically for driving with only one hand on the steering wheel, especially in a manual where it’s obviously necessary to remove your left hand to change gear, not having “proper control” of a vehicle will land you a fine in most states.
“Drivers should be aware… there isn’t a law that states explicitly where drivers have to keep their hands while operating their vehicle,” advises Corporate Driver Training Australia.
“There is a law that dictates drivers must be in control of their cars at all times, so if someone is driving erratically or recklessly, police can and will intervene. Regardless of positioning, drivers should keep both hands on the wheel at all times and avoid unnecessary distractions.”
Don’t think that having had your licence for a long time, or that you drive a manual car will save you either, as Drive Features Editor Rob Margeit found out when he retook his driving test after 38 years to find out if he’d pass again.
“Having an instructor riding shotgun made me all too aware of my own bad habits. We all have them,” he said.
“Things like taking your hands off the steering wheel while stopped at traffic lights (instant fail), or steering with one elbow resting on the centre console (why do car makers make them so soft and inviting then?) or on the window ledge (also instant fail) are habits I’d wager we have all developed.
“Your hands must, according to the regulations, be on the steering wheel at all times, unless you’re driving a manual. But even then, there are rules governing the act of changing gears.”
What your style might say about you
Beyond which is the ‘right’ way to position your hands, or the legal one, according to a new study how you hold the steering wheel could also say a lot about you as a person.
Body language expert Inbaal Honigman has revealed that the way you hold your steering wheel “may hold the key to who you are as a person”.
Working with Scrap Car Comparison, Honigman analysed various ways drivers tend to sit and hold their steering wheel while driving, to outline what each reveals about a person’s personality.
She found that those who favour the '10 and 2' position are likely to be ‘people-pleasers’, while motorists who spend large portions of their journey with both hands nestled at the bottom of the steering wheel are likely to have secrets that they hide from others.
Meanwhile, people who naturally drive with one hand placed firmly on top of the steering wheel will likely exude confidence in every area of their lives, not just behind the wheel.
Conversely, drivers who sit with their seat positioned close to the steering wheel are likely to be quite anxious, favouring the close-to-the-dashboard position as a way to self-soothe.
“Holding your hands in the recommended way isn’t about the breakdown of this specific pose, but about how you follow instructions to the letter, and not adapting or changing to suit different preferences, even years after learning how to drive,” said Honigman in a media release.
“The 10 and 2 o’clock position tells me one big thing about you: that you prefer to play it safe, you don’t want to take chances, and you will not let people down under any circumstances.
Speaking about the newer trend towards holding the 9 and 3, she said, “You’re a person who loves to be at the forefront of changes and innovations, your back is still straight, your head is still looking straight ahead, but you enjoy adjusting and stretching your sensibilities”.
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
