Where Should Your Hands be on the Steering Wheel

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Inhale fully, deep into your belly. Feel your stomach inflate as the air travels down. Relax and exhale slowly. After doing this a few times, imagine that you are riding in a brand new car that is moving at approximately 35 miles per hour. As you breathe in for four seconds, where is your dominant hand positioned? Is it on the steering wheel? Chances are, your dominant hand is on the wheel. This is a common mistake drivers make because they feel safer with their dominant hand firmly gripping the steering wheel within reach if needed but it’s not the best position to have your hands while driving.

Driving requires you to use all four limbs

Your hands are on the steering wheel, your feet are on the pedals, and your eyes are on the road. You need to use all of these parts together in order to drive safely.

Hands on Steering Wheel

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that drivers keep their hands at the 10 and 2 positions on the steering wheel. This allows them to have control over the vehicle in case of an emergency situation.

Holding onto the wheel with your hands helps reduce fatigue when you’re driving for long periods of time. It also helps prevent accidents from occurring due to poor visibility or distractions caused by cell phones, radios, and other electronics.

Feet on Pedals

Your feet should be placed firmly on both pedals at all times while driving. Failure to do so can result in injury or death if you lose control of your vehicle while trying to brake or accelerate at high speeds. The right foot controls gas while the left controls brakes it’s important to remember this rule when using cruise control as well! If you’re having difficulty remembering which pedal is which, try placing a piece of tape over each pedal so that they look like “g”

Place your hands at the 9 and 3 o’clock position

This is the most common and safest position for driving. It allows you to keep your eyes on the road, gives you a full view of the gauges, and lets you reach all of the controls without moving your hands too far from their resting place.

The only time you should move your hands is if they’re cramping up or causing you pain. In this case, try stretching them out or rotating them slightly so that they don’t get stuck in one position for too long.

If you have large hands (or long fingers), it may be hard to reach all of the controls in this position, so try placing your hands at 10 and 2 o’clock instead.

Your thumbs should be on the outside while your fingers grip the inside of the wheel

The way you hold the steering wheel can be a factor in how safe you are on the road. The National Safety Council recommends that your hands should be on the outside of the wheel, with your thumbs on top and fingers gripping from underneath.

This makes it easier for you to maintain control of your vehicle in emergency situations, such as when there is a sudden lane change or when another driver tries to cut you off. The added control also helps prevent accidents from happening in the first place.

The NSC recommends keeping your hands at 9 and 3 o’clock on the steering wheel. This allows you to keep them out of view from other drivers, which reduces distractions (and therefore potential collisions). It also makes it easier to turn your head and look at other vehicles and pedestrians while driving.

Get comfortable with this driving style and make it a habit

The safest place to have your hands while driving is on the top of the steering wheel.

This is where they should be when you’re driving slowly, and it’s also a good position to return to after taking an important phone call or reaching over to grab something from the back seat. As long as you don’t have to brake or steer suddenly, you can keep your hands on top of the wheel until you need them for another task.

In fact, if you’re driving on a freeway with no traffic around, it’s OK to leave your hands on top of the wheel at 10 and 2 o’clock. Just make sure that if you ever need to turn or brake suddenly, you’ll be ready!

Practice Several Times with a Driving Instructor to Get the Hang of It

There is no wrong or right way to hold the wheel. Various people have different styles and preferences, but it’s important that you practice several times with a driving instructor to get the hang of it.

Your hands should be at least 10 inches apart when holding the wheel, with your thumbs on top of each other and your fingers curled around the bottom of the wheel. Your elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle and resting on your knees so that they are comfortable. Your shoulders should be relaxed, not hunched up around your ears.

You also need to know how far apart you should place your feet while driving. Feet should be placed at least 12 inches apart so that you have plenty of room to maneuver if necessary.

The most important thing is to practice until you feel comfortable with where your hands are on the wheel and how they fit into the space between 10 and 2 o’clock on the face of it.

If you keep your hands in this position you have more control over your steering wheel

The best place to put your hands on the steering wheel is in the 10 and 2 positions. The 10 o’clock position is just aft of the top of the steering wheel, and 2 o’clock is just forward of center.

The reason you want your hands here is because these positions allow you to keep a relatively constant radius when turning. If you’re trying to turn at speed, this will help you make smoother turns as well as keep control of your vehicle.

If you keep your hands in this position you have more control over your steering wheel. You can still make small adjustments to turn or change lanes without having to reach across the wheel too much or move your wrist around too much.

Conclusion

This solution puts a ring around you, your steering wheel and your previous hand positions. The ring should be as close to you as possible, but not too close that your hands cannot move freely. Remember to make sure that your steering wheel is horizontal when you hold it. This will increase comfort and decrease fatigue.