(Actually, I tend to drive with my left hand on the left side of the wheel, say about 8 o’ clock, or on the top of the wheel, about 12 o’clock. The right is free to shift, although i currently drive an automatic transmission)
I also have a Honda, and the cross-supports at 3 and 9 are where the controls for the stereo and cruise control are, so that’s more or less where I hold my hands.
One or both hands on the crossbar thing, or one hand at the bottom on the wheel, or both hands at 10/2 if I need more control or my hands are cold and I want the heat blowing on them
I use the “racecar” method. Beyond just being roughly at 9 and 3, you wrap your thumbs around the spokes and use those for control. You don’t really need your fingers or palms most of the time.
The design of the wheel makes a difference. It’s considerably more comfortable in my Fiat compared to mrs.gnu’s Honda SUV. My old Dodge pickup had a four spoke wheel that was not right for it, the spoke connections were too high up.
And I thought this was going to be a thread about what kind of steering wheels our cars have. Like most “sport” steering wheels have three spokes, while most regular ones have two spokes. And then there are weirdos like Citroen with their single spoke steering wheels. Mine is three spoked and leather wrapped.
But to answer the question the OP actually asked, I’m actually not sure. It’s not really something I pay attention to. But I can kind of picture my right hand on the stick shift, and the other kind of resting on the left spoke. I’ll have to pay attention to what I do when I drive to work tomorrow.
The “driver education” training videos my company forces us to watch are saying 5 and 7. Too many people were/are punching themselves in the face with the old 10 and 2 when the airbag blows.
Off-roaders will tell you not to hook your thumbs in the wheel so your thumbs don’t get broken when the tire jams on something and whips the steering wheel around.
So many drivers are steering one-handed anyway because the other hand is holding the phone…
On a recent long drive, I really considered making a “pillow” of sorts for each elbow - one on the console, and one on the door handle, to prop them up, as 10 hours of 10/2 or 9/3 gets pretty fatiguing. Anyone else ever considered this?
I spent many years driving a manual transmission car so when driving my left hand was usually somewhere around the 10 o’clock position while my right hand was resting on the armrest, ready to shift. Now that I drive an automatic my left hand is usually somewhere around the 10 o’clock position while my right hand is resting on the armrest, ready to shift the now absent gearshift.
Driving through town or in heavy traffic both my hands are on the wheel, at 10 and 2. I don’t wrap my thumbs around the wheel. My kids, who both went through driver’s ed in the last 5 years, were taught to hold the wheel at 5 and 7 or 4 and 8. I just can’t do that, I feel like I can’t turn the wheel quickly if I need to. My kids have no problem with it. For me old habits not only die hard, but it would appear are impossible to break.
For me, absolutely no consistency, and also I feel that while it’s a fun topic for discussion, it’s absolutely irrelevant to safe driving. I generally find it most comfortable to have one or both hands somewhere around the top of the cross-thingy, but it varies. Steer with the left hand when I have a drink on the go or doing something with the radio or CD player. Steer with no hands at all when demonstrating to a friend how great my recent alignment was!
I would change “likely” to “possibly.” In over 25 years and hundreds of accident investigations I have never seen it. Airbag injuries are usually chest soreness(along with using the seatbelt) and abrasions to the the face and arms. I never once saw an airbag break an arm or wrist but I guess it’s possible.