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You're Driving All Wrong, Says NHTSA
antdude writes "This MSNBC Bottom Line story/article says that 'If you're a conscientious motorist who still does everything the way your driver's-ed instructor told you to, you're doing it all wrong. For decades, the standard instruction was that drivers should hold the steering wheel at the 10 and 2 positions, as envisioned on a clock. This, it turns out, is no longer the case. In fact, driving that way could cost you your arms or hands in particularly gruesome ways if your airbag deploys. Instead AAA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and many driving instructors now say you should grip the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock. A few go even further, suggesting 8 and 4 to avoid the airbag mechanism as much as possible, but what formal research has been published on the varieties of hand positions suggests that this may lessen your control of the car.'" I usually hold even lower on the wheel, perhaps 4:30 and 7:30, but I also drive with my seat pushed farther forward than most people like. Drivers, what's your approach?
"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. "
Albert Einstein
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From what I observe, regardless of hand position most drivers are doing it wrong. Tailgating, cutting people off, never use turn signals, not accelerating before trying to merge on to a highway, running stop signs. I see almost all of this every day on the way to work, and it's only 17km. Hand position is the least of their problems.
Is what most professional race drivers have done for decades, for several reasons.
Professional racecar drivers let go of the steering wheel entirely when things go pear shaped,
otherwise they might break their thumbs or wrists due to a sharp jerk of the steering wheel.
This is the most recent example I can recall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K1CpII2yJM&t=77s
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