When Driving.
How far do you sit from the steering wheel? Basically I see people use one of two basic positions. The “Formula One” position with arms stretched out nearly straight, or the “Rally Car” position pulled up much closer to the wheel, sometimes actually leaning forwards.
My observation:
Most men use F1 style.
Most women are Rally style.
Not judging, just saying.
And where do your hands go? I think the “correct” position is 10 o’clock - 2 o’clock, but some folk use a weird grip like 12 & 6, or with hands crossed on the top of the wheel or even the cab driver method of steering with the palm of one hand.
I’m an F1 guy, laid back with arms not quite straight and hands in a very sensible 10-2 configuration though I may slide to a one-handed 7 or 4 o’clock when cruising on the motorway.
We know who drives stick, so tell us how you steer.
In most cars with airbags, the safest position is 9 and 3 – manufacturers warn that 10 and 2 can get your thumbs broken. I drive at about 9:30 and 2:30, when I’m using both hands; usually, I just hold the bottom of the wheel with my left thumb, the rest of the hand supported by my knee. Two-hands driving is reserved for curves, obstacles, high speeds, and lane changes.
As for my seat position, I like to be sitting fairly upright with my legs as straight as possible, and I lean into my seat back. I usually slouch against the door, and if I’m sitting straight I use the head rest.
It’s all about the legs for me, which puts my arms slightly bent when in the 10-2 position. And I tend to drive with my left hand at 10, unless it’s a beautiful day and there’s great tunes on, in which case my left hand is on the door frame, following the music and the right hand is at 2.
I tend to sit with the seat all the way back, which I can’t understand, as on a good day I top out at 5’6. My father moves my seat forward when he drives as his legs are shorter, which drive me nuts. My mother sits so close to the stearing wheel it’s dangerous. My brother sits like I do. I think it has more to do with who teaches you how to drive and how anal they are about you doing it the same way. As my brother and I drive the same way and were taught by my father, therefore negating the gender issue.
I’ve yet to figure out how the G-Lean is humanly possible. They look like severe sideways-scoliosis cases. And how do they see over the dashboard, ducked down so low?
On a normal driving day, I’m in the “F1” position but my arms don’t have to reach too much to get to the wheel. My seating position, due to my car/chair, is straight back and normal.
When I track my car (or auto-cross) I sit closer to the wheel, lower back planted firmly against the seat. The closer seating position make jumping on the clutch faster but less practical for normal driving.
I move my seat up close to the wheel, lean back in the seat, and put one hand (usually the left, but I’m equally comfortable either way) on the wheel to steer. Generally my hand will have a decent grip on the wheel, but if I’m crusin’ down the interstate for any considerable distance, I might relax and do the old palm-steer for a while.
No matter where I am or what I’m doing, though, at the first sign of a dangerous or strange situation, my back is straight, both hands are on the wheel at 10 and 2, and I’m ready to boogie. I’ve developed it into a reflex action rather than anything I have to consciously do. I’m glad for it, too; it’s gotten me safely out of a lot of tight situations (such as the guy who came straight at me on the two-lane highway IN THE COMPLETE WRONG LANE at 60 mph) without a scratch.
Hubby & I contradict your most men are F1, most women are Rally observation. He likes his back almost straight up, arms bent (with whatever leg room his long legs need). I can only drive F1, chair slid to just enough to brake/accel. adequately, and angled back until arms are stiff straight if either hand is at noon. Which means my arms get kinda tired (and I was taught to hold at 9 and 2), so when not turning, changing lanes or doing something needing concentration, my thumbs are usually resting/holding the wheel at around 5 & 7 o’clock and my elbows are supported against the chair’s sides.
I used to be Rally but got myself used to F1 when I read that small people (like I) should sit as far from the airbag as possible. Is that really true or just hyped up for worry warts like myself?
I like the F1 position when cruising on the highway, but being a short type woman I have to sit in the rally position to push the clutch in during city driving. So I basically go back and forth every day. Works for me.
PS I think I’m about the only person in the universe with a manual X5.
I read that if your wrists can rest on the top of the steering wheel with your arms extended, you’re the right distance from the air bag. That’s the guide I use though I don’t have a cite and it puts me a little farther from the wheel than I’m used to (I’m also shortish).
In my car, I drive with the relaxed position. If I’m driving something else, like the 15 passenger van with the 40 foot boats strapped to the top that I drove this weekend, I tend to sit up a lot more with my hands in the 2 and 10 o’clock position. I got mocked for not looking cool but, dang it, we got there and back in one piecee. (man, I’m sounding old )
Airbags have forced me to assume the F1 position, 10 and 2 (though I may need to consider 9 and 3).
I figure that if I sit too close, the airbag will do something nasty to my chest, and if I drive with one hand on top of the wheel, it’s in perfect position to smack me in the face with the airbag blows.
Of course, when I’m driving my old pickup truck, sans airbags, I slip into old habits: elbow hanging out the window, gripping the wheel with the tips of the fingers, ready to change to the “cabbie palm” maneuver at moment’s notice. There’s actually a very slick shiny spot from 10 to 11 on the wheel from years of this.
Somewhere in between. I try to sit as far back from the wheel as possible, but I’m also somewhat short, so I have to pull the seat ahead quite far so I can reach the pedals properly. Though my mother’s new car has a power seat on the driver’s side, and you can adjust the height of the front and back of the seat, which makes it easier to sit farther back and be comfortable.
And regarding hand positions, when I took Driver’s Ed three years ago they were teaching 8 and 4. You have more fine control than at 10 and 2.
Count me in the F1 style. I don’t like sitting close to the steering wheel. In case of an accident, that airbag would break my nose.
Normally I drive with the left hand at the top of the wheel with the right hand on the stick shift. If I am just crusing along then the right hand is at the top of the wheel with the left elbow proped on the door and left hand at the 9 o’clock position.
F1 style, because it’s comfortable. I’m relatively tall, so the seat is pushed far back allowing my legs to stretch a bit, my hands are almost completely stretched out. The seat back is always tilted back a bit.
When driving the manual, the left hand is usually on the shifter while I steer with the right. When driving the CVT, left hand is still on the shifter while I steer with the right.
When steering one-handed only, the hand is at 2:30. When steering with 2 hands (normally happens only at speed), 2 and 7, left hand resting on my thigh.
I used to be very much “rally style”, but I try to sit further back these days now I have a car with airbags (and more comfortable seats).
I also find that I naturally lean slightly in to my left (i.e. towards the centre of the car, as I am in the UK). I find it easier to pick the best line if my eyes are nearer the centre of the car. My current car has pedals slightly offset to the right, which kind of increases this lean.
I also tend to drive with my left hand resting on the top of the gear stick, and right hand at about 1 o’clock. A bad habit I know, but it’s comfortable. Incidentally, I was always taught to steer by “feeding the wheel” through alternate hands, and that crossing hands on the wheel was a big no-no, but when I took an advanced driving course the instructor told me that this is outdated in these days of power steering, and that you should go ahead and cross your hands if it makes fast steering easier.