# Grab-handles above passenger car windows **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443 "2001-11-09T15:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/1 "2001-11-09T15:29:01Z")
I’ve always wondered what the purpose is for those little handles you almost always see in cars, above every window but the driver’s. Looking at it one way, it’s fairly safe to assume that the driver doesn’t need one because the driver should keep both hands on the wheel. But then, when and where, exactly, is the owner of a Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry going to be driving so fast and erratically that his passengers need something to grab on to? ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/2 "2001-11-09T15:36:23Z")
Don’t know if this is the INTENDED purpose, but I always used them for hanging dry cleaning, or otherwise nicer clothes when driving that would wrinkle if folded away in the suitcase. ---
**Author:** ![scotth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@scotth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/3 "2001-11-09T15:40:12Z")
They are also very useful for elderly and less able body people trying to get out of the car. And, all our cars have one for the driver too. However, I have always called them the “oh-shit” handles. Cause passengers tend to be saying that about that time they reach for them. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/4 "2001-11-09T15:41:27Z")
They’re there to help the passengers get out of the car. You reach up and use the handle to help lift yourself out of the seat. The driver doesn’t have one because they have the steering wheel. They can push out on it. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/5 "2001-11-09T15:42:49Z")
Those things are great! Getting in and out of today’s cars is worse than a space capsule. You grab the handle to leverage yourself off the seat and out the door. Plus you can hang on to them and cradle your chin on your upper arm as you lazily watch the scenery pass by – if you’re a passenger, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/6 "2001-11-09T15:59:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scotth \* > \*\*They are also very useful for elderly and less able body people trying to get out of the car. > > However, I have always called them the “oh-shit” handles. Cause passengers tend to be saying that about that time they reach for them. \*\* That’s what I call them. 'Course, it’s more of a “woooooaaaaaaaa-shit” handle. TR-7s don’t have them, which is a shame considering the 7" ground clearance and the fact that, when sitting, your ass is about 14 inches above the road. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/7 "2001-11-09T16:06:34Z")
They’re there so some nervous nelly passenger can passive-aggressively comment on your driving, by white-knuckling the damn thing as tho they have to hang on for dear life. Best when combined with the other hand bracing against the dashboard protecting against the imminent impact that never comes. No, I’m not thinking about anyone in particular. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/8 "2001-11-09T16:26:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > **They’re there so some nervous nelly passenger can passive-aggressively comment on your driving, by white-knuckling the damn thing as tho they have to hang on for dear life. Best when combined with the other hand bracing against the dashboard protecting against the imminent impact that never comes.** I belive you forgot the manic, repeated stepping on a phantom brake pedal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/9 "2001-11-09T16:44:04Z")
Guys I went to high school with swore they were for their dates ankles. Me? I was a gentleman. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/10 "2001-11-09T17:11:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spiny Norman \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > > **They’re there so some nervous nelly passenger can passive-aggressively comment on your driving, by white-knuckling the damn thing as tho they have to hang on for dear life. Best when combined with the other hand bracing against the dashboard protecting against the imminent impact that never comes.** > > I belive you forgot the manic, repeated stepping on a phantom brake pedal. 😉 \*\* I’d swear I’m being followed … ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/11 "2001-11-09T17:26:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spritle \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by scotth \* > > \*\*They are also very useful for elderly and less able body people trying to get out of the car. > > > > However, I have always called them the “oh-shit” handles. Cause passengers tend to be saying that about that time they reach for them. \*\* > > That’s what I call them. 'Course, it’s more of a “woooooaaaaaaaa-shit” handle.\*\* Oh-me-Jeeeeezus! handles. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/12 "2001-11-09T17:35:09Z")
Teenaged girls use them while cruising. They get a boy to pull up next to them. They invite him to cop a feel as they drive along. When moves his car close and reaches over, the girl snaps the handcuff on him. The other end is joined by a chain to the “grab handle”. The driver of the girl’s car then accellerates, forcing the boy to do the same. Eventually, the lane in front of the girls will be clear, and there will be another vehicle in the boy’s lane. That’s when the girls speed up… ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/13 "2001-11-09T17:37:27Z")
Panic bars. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/14 "2001-11-09T22:26:19Z")
Well, I used it all the time, when my ex was driving. And hated it when he got a car that didn’t have one. It’s a lot more pleasant to hold onto that when going into a turn at any sort of speed. And he loved doing power turns on twisty mountain roads. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/15 "2001-11-09T23:03:47Z")
i got em mounted on every flat surface in my jeep (including the floor) so you can use em to crawl out when you roll down the mountianside! i get em from the junkyard. ones out of suzuki slamaris work the best. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/16 "2001-11-09T23:16:36Z")
In my one time childhood inncocence I really did think they were for the travelling sales reps who drove about not wanting to wrinkle their suit. Nowadays I use them for two reasons; 1- The upholstery (sp?) in my Dad’s old Volvo is none too comfortable to rest your arm on during a long journey and, 2- The seats in My Mum’s Renault are genuinely the most unsupportive I’ve ever felt, public transport included. The only thing the driver has to keep him or her in the driver’s seat is the steering wheel. Approach a corner and grab real tight… ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grab-handles-above-passenger-car-windows/92443/17 "2001-11-10T01:57:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*Guys I went to high school with swore they were for their dates ankles. Me? I was a gentleman. \*\* Does that mean you let them get on top? So they are for your ankles?