Proper Hand Position for Driving
When driving, keep your hands at the left- and right-most points of your wheel. This may be easier if you picture your steering wheel as the round face of a clock. Imagine where the 3 and the 9 would be, and keep your hands there.
Keeping your hands at 3 and 9 when you drive makes it safer if your airbag deploys. If you have your hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock, your hands and arms are right in the way of your airbag. If the airbag deploys and your hands are in the way, you could suffer from serious fractures or even amputations in your hands. Keeping your hands at 3 and 9 – or even 8 and 4, as some people suggest – keeps your hands mostly out of harm’s way.
Keeping your hands at 3 and 9 can also be more comfortable if you’re driving a car with a smaller steering wheel. It places your arms in what is known as a “parallel position,” which improves your stability and gives you more control of your vehicle.
Don’t Cross Over
When people keep their hands at 10 and 2, they often cause their hands to cross over each other when they make a turn. Since this involves taking a hand off the wheel and potentially losing control of your vehicle, this is a bad idea.
On the other hand, placing your hands at 9 and 3 allows you to keep both hands on your wheel when you turn. Think of it as using a “push-pull” method of driving. When you turn, one hand pushes the wheel in the direction you need to go, while the other pulls. At no point do you have less than two hands on the wheel.
Proper Body Position
While we’re talking about proper hand position while driving, we should also discuss proper body position. If you are keeping your hands at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock, your center of balance and posture should improve, but there is still more that you can do.
When you adjust your seat before driving, try to give yourself enough space so that your thighs are parallel to the floor of the car. This will improve the mobility of your feet as you operate the pedals and generally give you a more comfortable drive.