holding steering wheel at half past 6

[Buggerlugz]

my daughter does this, both hands at the bottom of the wheel palms up, having had a few lifts off her over christmas i couldnt help but notice how rough the ride was due to this odd holding position.

does anyone else do similar or know anyone that does it, ive tried speaking to her of the benefits of ten to two but its not for her

[Scrump]

Makes a change from the 12 o’clock hand position (yes just the one hand).

[anonymous-user]

It's just plain laziness.

[samoht]

One possibility is that her driving position is such that a quarter to three or ten to two position is an uncomfortable stretch for her, so she's unconsciously defaulting to holding the bottom as it's a more comfortable reach.

Potentially bringing the wheel out (if possible), more vertical, or her sitting up straighter or closer to the wheel might make holding the wheel at/above the middle more comfortable.

Holding the wheel below the mid-point means that any lateral disturbance then causes a steering input that exaggerates the swerve, whereas when above, the arms' inertia acts to naturally counter-act it. So there is a good reason to follow conventional practice.

[Bennet]

Sounds like she could teach you a thing or two. Using her method she can instantly apply 360 degrees of lock in either direction without any hand swapping at all. Using your boomer ten-to-two method you'll barely get 200°.

Wait until you realise she also uses one foot for the accelerator and the other for the brake. Instant stopping ability. Smart kid.

[sherman]

Bennet said:

Sounds like she could teach you a thing or two. Using her method she can instantly apply 360 degrees of lock in either direction without any hand swapping at all. Using your boomer ten-to-two method you'll barely get 200°.

Wait until you realise she also uses one foot for the accelerator and the other for the brake. Instant stopping ability. Smart kid.

The amount of times I have ever swung the wheel 360° at anything more than 5mph without swapping or shiffling my hands to my knowledge is nil.
200° is more than enough for general driving.

As for the one foot on the accelerator and brake is dangerous and pointless if you have a manual car.

She needs to set the seating position correctly.

[anonymous-user]

Buggerlugz said:

my daughter does this, both hands at the bottom of the wheel palms up, having had a few lifts off her over christmas i couldnt help but notice how rough the ride was due to this odd holding position.

does anyone else do similar or know anyone that does it, ive tried speaking to her of the benefits of ten to two but its not for her

Whilst half six sounds bizarre, what's the advantage of ten to two, in comparison to say quarter to three?

[Somewhatfoolish]

Does she do autocross?

[Sebring440]

Buggerlugz said:

i couldnt help but notice how rough the ride was due to this odd holding position.

Interesting how the position of her hands on the wheel affects the ride?

Have you asked her (as an experiment), to change the hand(s) position, to see if the ride improves?

If it doesn't, check the tyre pressures!

[zarjaz1991]

biggbn said:

Whilst half six sounds bizarre, what's the advantage of ten to two, in comparison to say quarter to three?

Ten to two is no longer recommended, to do with airbags going off I believe.

Quarter to three is what is recommended now.

I'm afraid I'm mostly right hand only, at 3! Don't care who hates me for it, I do a lot of miles and that's the most comfortable.

[zarjaz1991]

Buggerlugz said:

my daughter does this, both hands at the bottom of the wheel palms up, having had a few lifts off her over christmas i couldnt help but notice how rough the ride was due to this odd holding position.

does anyone else do similar or know anyone that does it, ive tried speaking to her of the benefits of ten to two but its not for her

Both hands at the bottom is odd enough, but palms UP? Really? How does that even work? Am I misunderstanding this?

[Flumpo]

How does where she holds the steering wheel make ‘the ride rough’?

Genuine question.

[hidetheelephants]

Flumpo said:

How does where she holds the steering wheel make ‘the ride rough’?

Genuine question.

I'd assume the odd hand position means she cannot control the steering with any precision and is overcontrolling, which might induce nausea from lateral acceleration/oscillation.

[anonymous-user]

hidetheelephants said:

I'd assume the odd hand position means she cannot control the steering with any precision and is overcontrolling, which might induce nausea from lateral acceleration/oscillation.

This how I read it.

OP my wife does this and it drives me nuts. Feels like you're constantly wobbling and everything turns into what feels like a great big swerve.

Doesn't matter what I tell her though

[samoht]

Flumpo said:

How does where she holds the steering wheel make ‘the ride rough’?

Genuine question.

A) Hold the wheel at ten to two. The weight of your arms is now above the wheel centre. Say the car is pushed to the left by a crosswind or bump, the inertia of your arms mean they move right relative to the car. This means that (without any conscious reaction) your hands have moved right, which results in a small steering input to the right. This inadvertent mechanical steering input now steers the car back, counteracting the initial disturbance.

B) Now hold the wheel at the bottom, half past six. Same thing happens, car goes left, hands go right. Now the weight of your arms below the wheel is applying a steering input that turns the wheel left, so in the same direction of the disturbance, amplifying it.

Of course a split second later your brain will make a counter-input anyway, but what I've heard and always understood is that the difference is whether the initial mechanical response compensates for or exaggerates the disturbance.

[Whatapex]

Bennet said:

Sounds like she could teach you a thing or two. Using her method she can instantly apply 360 degrees of lock in either direction without any hand swapping at all. Using your boomer ten-to-two method you'll barely get 200°.

Wait until you realise she also uses one foot for the accelerator and the other for the brake. Instant stopping ability. Smart kid.

Have you ever driven a car ?

[Zarco]

Bennet caught a few with that bait.

[s94wht]

Whatapex said:

Have you ever driven a car ?

You ever experienced a joke?

[bigdom]

Buggerlugz said:

does anyone else do similar or know anyone that does it, ive tried speaking to her of the benefits of ten to two but its not for her

My wife did something similar many years ago. Her comments were based on it being comfy on the motorway as she does around 40k pa.

Gave herself carpal tunnel syndrome, then tennis elbow at the same time, which gave the physio a job to get her back to normal. Now more of a quarter to 3 type.

TBF, unless I'm moving at pace, I'm just a right hand on wheel type.

[Silvanus]

Zarco said:

Bennet caught a few with that bait.

Brexit has led to a national shortage of parrots.