The Best Hand Position for Driving
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- One of the basic essentials of car control, using proper hand position while driving is critical to handling a vehicle at the limit and responding to emergency situations.
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Is it bad my first impression of how good a driver is casual or racing is where they have their hand on the wheel when driving and this in turn sets the mood for the rest of the drive? Weather I'll be praying for my life or enjoying the ride?
Try one handed around sharp short single track with trees on both sides of your car
I have a breed of a rally racer
The power steering on the focus is like "please stop."
Great vid by the way!
It leaked shortly after like any other power steering......bin it!
Don't worry the trans will go first
Pretty sure it's electric steering
I was thinking the same exact thing hahaha
The front tires mightve had its share of the pain as well
But Vin Diesel always drives with one hand on top of the wheel and he's the best driver ever.
not sure if this is a joke or an actual statement
@@ozyman1776 They're supposed to look badass, you really think holding the steering wheel at 9&3 will make Vin Diesel look cooler?
*likes comment & searches vin diesel driving..
Vin Petrol drives with three hands on the bottom of the wheel, he is arguably an even better driver.
So did Paul Walker and well....
He didn’t mention the most common ‘no handed, control with right knee’ method
Or the 'I'm-talking-on-my-phone-while-eating-a-burger-and-drinking-an-over-sized-beverage' elbow method.
and its cousin, Ihave to put on my make up !
What about the "I'll let Autopilot do its thing while I fall asleep on the highway" method?
Rollin a blunt while steering with your knees on the freeway 😂
I habitually drive all the time in 9-3 position now. Having Logitech racing wheel and play racing sim games all the time helped solidify that habit
ahaha ya its easiest to drive at 9 and 3, but with my dfgt, the spokes are right at 9 and 3, so my fingers get sore from being pressed against the spokes
9 and 3 is essential on the g29. The wheel is too small in my opinion to comfortably use 10 and 2.
lol im the same
i started with karting and later i got my sim with g27. Always driving 9-3. Now im driving my car on the public road always 10-4 lazely.
Heh mellow ik the pain. But the idea of that is actually to give you more support/control. Many race cars have their spokes just below 9 and 3 specifically to give your thumb some resting position while still having control over the car.
This man's front tires prolly have a flat spot at the end of this video lmao
yeah, it hurts to watch :D
This does not cause anything close to the amount of wear youtube commenters seem to think it does.
Im a truck driver,12 years,70mph max speed,I've had tons of time to observe other drivers in various types of vehicles and I can say that drivers who hold their steering wheel with both hands at the very top of the steering wheel are by far thee most problematic drivers for various reasons.
Or those who keep both hands at the bottom of the wheel.
just my 2 cent ... i use 9 and 3 when driving a little fast ... when relaxed and slow driving ... i use one hand near the leg ... maybe 8 o'clock
The top is worse. Physically speaking, if you have a point at the top of the steering wheel with weight on it, the weight naturally seeks the ground. If the hand is to reach the ground with a grip on the steering wheel the whole time, it will cause the wheel to turn - in a random direction.
If you're gripping the bottom and resting your hand, the vehicle will still be moving in a straight line.
So, slightly better, still bad.
Those that keep a hand on the shifter. X2 when the car has an auto transmission.
Audiwan Kenobi they're the ones who tailgate as well.
I mis-read the title as 'head position' and now it's already 5:00 and I am still waiting for the guy to talk about head position.
Spoiler Alert: It's 9 & 3 o clock
absolutely perfect xD
Not spoiler. We just want to know why.
Pauli Ahonen because if the air bag goes off at 10 and 2 you’ll break your arms
Finn Campeau not really, it’s because of control. It is safer but it was originally held at that position by pros for control
@@pauliahonen4970 Common sense lmao...try driving canyons, 9-3 is best.
9-3, the best for me when it comes to driving "fast" or expecting potentially critical situations. Definitely the greatest control over the car at high speed.
But in the city, tight turns are almost impossible to take with half a turn of the striring wheel. So here, presetting gets very handy and leaves you with full steering variation range if adjustments are needed.
On the highway, just getting one hand at the bottom of the steering wheel generates much less fatigue and is just fine to me. As long as both hands are close to the wheel, I think they can rest.
Oh man this is just the video I needed. My sister recently got her permit and won't listen to me so I needed somebody else to tell her the exact same right things!!! Thanks!!
He’s just awesome in explaining things! I just sent this to my girlfriend, so she knows as well.. Thank you , man! Richard
This was a great video. I drive at 9 and 3 90% of the time. I was heading south on i95 in a 2016 Mercedes c300 4matic in a light rain, I was doing about 85mph. I hydroplaned super hard and pretty much went spinning. 90 degrees left, to 180 degrees to my rear, back to facing south. Didn't hit anything, dodged a few cars and kept us off the walls. Car shut off in the middle lane. Restarted it, alive.
Good work!
@@Teamoneilrally thank yall for these videos. I taught myself how to drive manual transmission a lot better using these guidelines. Learning more every day. 13' fiat 500 Abarth now.
Best is absolutly 9 - 3. I started driving like that since i started to drive cars and never changed. It's the best way to have keep a good force on the wheel when needed. Plus you always know where the center is. Nice video as always :p
3-9 the best way to hold the wheel.
Be it on the autobahn at 300 kph or in a sinuous road in the countryside. Then it's just a matter of good habits and muscle memory as he said. Great video!
It is better to push more than you pull while steering. Because of the pushing you press yourself against your seat, therefore if you go over a bump, your body wont move as much and therefore you have a more more precise steering input.
If your using that much force, your hands won't get as much feedback from the steering. To avoid my body moving around over bumps, I lean myself against my seats bolstering- if I'm turning left, I slightly reposition my body to the right side of the seat, on the bolstering, so I can't move any further.
That's fizzicks!
Nobody pulls while steering wtf
@@petarc8152 I've ridden with plenty of people who pull almost exclusively. One handed. While rounding twisty mountain roads. It's scary.
Chock full of good, practical tips as well as an explanation of the uses of different techniques...great video!
I like this guy
Why disliking this amazing video when he is teaching us something very important!
I have a friend who crashed into something do to bright sun in his eyes. The airbag blew and and his hand was on 12 o clock. He basicly highfived himself in the face.
Ouch!! :(
Cool, thanks. I would appreciate a part two to explain how to move our hands in really sharp corners. I know you suggested to use hand over hand, but more details on how would be cool. I hope to make it back to Team O'Neil in the future and learn more in person.
With normal cars you can either push or pull but when I did some karting last year I realised that if the steering is heavy you really don't want to be pulling. If you pull you're only using your body weight to move the wheel, but if you push you can use your back and the seat to move the wheel and it's much less strain on your arms.
Love the videos as always guys. Clear concise and well explained
With 9 and 3 being the ideal position it seems crazy to have paddle shifters mounted anywhere but on the wheel.
Everyone who drives a car with a manual transmission should be good at driving with one hand. Whenever I'm doing any kind of spirited driving, both hands absolutely at 9 and 3, however when an accident happens is when you're least prepared for it. Just recently I had to palm my way out of rear ending a girl after my front wheels locked up (I was paying attention, she had ABS and I didn't, and I was driving on racing compound tires in way lower temperatures than they're meant for) because my right hand was on the shifter. But I've seen people drive with all kinds of wacky hand positions, my favorite is one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter... In a car with an automatic transmission.
Sheehy in an automatic lmao
I've learnt so much from these videos. Definitely been driving safer lately just knowing how to handle my car
I believe the 10 and 2 Technique was taught to prevent people using too much steering because cars back then weren't as stable or safe in turns. Now that cars have TC, better cornerabilty and all that stuff you can get away with the 9 and 3 Method which is the most effective and safe of all. Even if you only drive with one hand on 9 you can enjoy a pretty good ride and always just add the second hand whenever you notice its gonna get a bit tricky.
I have one arm and slide around on the dirt roads hear in rural KS, driving swiftly going into a corner I'll knee lock the wheel preset my hand to the bottom, left foot brake to get a drift in my Corolla, bringing the wheel around, my arm is going to over rotate I switch back to right foot brake, knee lock left flip hand continue turn. I'm hoping to get a hand break pedal put in soon to help with the drift and avoid unnecessary knee locks on the wheel.
YES
a TOTAL AGREEMENT!!!
Maybe I would dive even more into details - how about 9-3 hand position,max turn in and even further need to steer - what about repositioning your hands in this scenario - there should be more of regrabbing-the-wheel techniques, right?
Great information! In my opinion, the most important thing is knowing where center is.
I’m a new driver, it’s only been a year since I started. From day 1 I have been @ the 9 & 3 position. I am not comfortable driving with 1 hand @ the 12 OClock position @ all. I do drive with 1 hand but @ the 3OClock position. I rest my left arm on my left knee with my leg bent toward me. My left hand is centimeters away from the 9 position while driving with 1 hand. That’s my natural driving seated position. As soon as I sat in the car that’s how I rolled. It does a number on my bladder. An hour into driving I have to pee do badly, it’s stressful but I deal with it as best I can.
Can’t find words to say thank you!
I like 9 and 3 also because it's more comfortable, resting your hands on the notches on each side, more control and more comfort
poor steering rack...
Steering rack is fine...
He’s probably on gravel and so it has no effect
It would makes sense that he was on gravel
anyway he did this for us
he seems very obsessive w the steering wheels. venting anger. lolol
@@nghitran1433 what
Formidable advice. Could not be more accurate !
Car error code: powersteerig fluid went out
Alexander Cheung "fluid"
domosRAGE Si grammar 👮♀️
Alexander Cheung was poking fun because most cars don't use fluid anymore, they're electric
Easy way to spot a bad mechanic if you know your car doesn't use any
Again thank you so much I am a nine and three driver I am guilty of presetting around town.
I will never drive with one hand, even though people tell me I need to so I look cool.
Hey, tks for clearing up all my doubts.
Was a habitual 12 and 6 with right hand on top and left holding the wheel until I realized that with light steering this is not very safe and the wheel can easily twitch while at higher speeds and rough roads.
"Only one hand on the steering wheel is a bad driving position"
Shingo: Am I a joke to you?
only the true drift fans will get it haha
Having been driving for almost 20 years I've come to factor in road conditions in how I drive good roads left hand at 11o clock right hand on the shifter places where the roads bad rain storm whatever both hands 10 and 3
What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using a 4 & 8 hand position?
Excellent video! The fundamentals are so important.
Some van and truck drivers here in Russia still have those 'suicide knobs'. Geez, it's the first time I heard that name, but I totally dig it)
Should my thumbs be in or out of the steering wheel? thanks for the great video :)
oot, you don't want to break your thumbs when that thing bump steers like a green snake breaking through a sugar cane wall
Hmm, seems i've been using the 'best' way since the beginning, just felt the most comfortable.
I’ve been playing around with hand positioning for as long as I’ve been on the road. Both track and street.
Track -albeit in a go kart.
I find that 8 and 4 is nice too. Maybe it the go-kart racer in me that likes it that way. But I find that in my car is have more steering “throw” or arch per arm.
But it honestly purely depends on the style of the wheel. An old BMW steering wheel encourages 9-3 but can do 8-4 bc of the 4 spokes. On the contrary, Toyota only encourages 9-3 bc of the T-shaped wheel spokes.
Driving for 4 years to date. No accident(Zero) so far...But I was actually Putting my Left Hand on the 12 o'Clock Position....I have seen quite a few People Doing it. Until today You are saying Position 9 & 3 are the most effective( I agree ).
Ok! Thanks to you I will do my utmost Commitment to put them to 9 & 3 But Do you know why and where 12'0 clock actually came into existence and why quite so many are very Used to it ?? Thank again for the Great advise I really mean it.. God Bless you !
Jayasekara Viraj - The 12 o'clock steering position was invented from all the cunts that drive BMW lol.
Nice to hear man! Drive safe!
I do 9&3 on the steering wheel sometime one handed @9 then 3 I am agile while I drive carts at target and biking same on Golf carts
I only use 1 hand on the wheel and 1 hand on the gear level. Palming the wheel seems like it has more pressure on the wheel at a half turn of input than if i started at 9&3
Ima try the 9 and 3. I hate shuffling the wheel, can be so jerky at times. I picked up on a few things here though such as the airbag situation with the hand over hand technique. I am a lot better at shuffling though and I need to switch to that during lessons and definitely for the test.
my uncle as a professional truck driver for years some times rest his hands at his legs only slightly touching the wheel from the bottom part of it and says everything is safe as long you watch and predict your surroundings. ( of course in straight roads)
I always have my hands positioned at 9&3 because i can just hook my thumbs on the wheel and thats comfortable - ive learned it that way from my instructor and imma keep it that way
As someone who works from a driving school I approve this message
I rest the back of my hand on my lap and drive with my thumb and index finger like a teacup
I personally think pull push is the best, however people never know how to do it properly. They don’t shuffle the bottom to the complete top, they just do small movements which slows you down for steering. Also, the caster effect & braking/accelerating moves the wheel for you.
I know the suicide knob is illegal on cars, but I had one on my Silverado 1500, and i could slide for days on gravel, and do fine on the road. That being said I'll still never put one on my jeep lol.
With manual transmission, palming the wheel combo with both hands 9-3 works for me.
I use "Eternal Push-only 9-3 Hand-over-hand" method... so when I do do hand-over-hand, my lifted hand always land on either 9 or 3 - and the planted hand stays planted but only for pushing. If I swap directions, I swap my planted hand in order to keep the planted hand doing only pushing.
How about a Mazda 2? As far I can tell, very similar to the Ford Fiesta, same suspension parts available.
I don't think I've ever once shuffled a steering wheel
I did it on the driving test. but never again
very usefull for beginners
Great video! When you were speaking about getting feed back 6:35 from the steering wheel, does this feedback from the wheel diminish in vehicles with electric power steering vs hydraulic?
Something else to be said about the 9-3 position (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that your "arm lock" basically only gives you 180 degrees of motion either way, but in performance driving, you don't typically (read: practically never) need to steer beyond that...right? Rally racing is potentially the big exception to this ironically, because of things like hairpins and acute corners.
Also, (and teku already made this point a bit but) what are your thoughts about shifting mid-corner? Is that something to generally be avoided? I know diff-lock oversteer is always a concern, but it seems...slower perhaps to have to straighten the wheel after a corner, and THEN downshift...but perhaps it's more dangerous/risky to attempt to downshift while also steering? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
I guess it depends on where and how you are driving. Racing then 9-3 position pretty much all the time. Rallying, well this depends on if you are on tarmac or gravel and even if you are driving a front, rear or 4 wheel drive car. Personally i drive a rear drive car and mostly on tarmac and i very rarely cross my hands, right hand stays on the right hand side of the steering wheel and the left on the left. I find it faster and more in control. Now if you talking about day to day road driving, well i'm in the UK and they have 2 forms of higher driving tests that you can take, the IAM advanced test or the ROSPA test ( which is what you have you have to take if you are a blue light driver, police, fire, medics etc) and crossing of the hands is a big no no! If you are daily driving pretty much anything then you never really have to cross your hands on the wheel if you employ the right technics.
As for gear changing mid corner, well once again personally i do while rallying but the car isn't so powerful as to spin the wheels up in the dry, sometimes in the wet but unless i'm being a total muppet then it isnt a big issue. Way i look at it is its a second lost if i get the car pointing in the right direction before changing gear, thats a lot of seconds per stage! so if she's needs another gear, she gets another gear!!! lol But road driving well, no, you should be in the correct gear for the corner, before the corner. You shouldn't even brake and change gear at the same time on the road if you really want to be anal about it!! haha but hey do whatever works for you, have a practice with different styles and as long as you dont crash into the country side, you doing ok! :) Hope this is of some help to the questions, and if not, oh well :)
Changing gear during a corner is acceptable for just driving to work or the shops, but when you're driving quickly, it should not be done, as it can unbalance the car.
@@jordanbell4420 are you talking about turning right on red and accelerating out, or slowing to make 3/4 of the turn selecting gear to accelerate out?
If you need to spin the wheel right round you cross your arm over the other and grip it in the same place, so basically always 9-3 on the wheel. Takes some practice but it makes steering smoother as you never release grip on the wheel at any point.
This video was great, you got my Like and my subscription. Thanks a lot!
This is a good watch, but what about more specifics on wheel grip? How and were to apply force to the wheel so you have sufficient grip without squeezing?
But in manuals, my hand position changes allot depending on what the roads doing and if have to change gear etc
Right hand at 6 o clock. 2 fingers and one thumb up on the wheel. Great on the snow because you immediately feel it pulling. Second hand only when needed for control, at 12.
Note that when the car pulls, you want immediate give and then recovery.
This is true, I broke my right wrist palming the wheel when the left front ran over a rock.
Was taught 10-2 by my first instructor and then when i had my second (first was a nightmare, so i left) He allowed me to drive 9-3 like i wanted, the only thing he corrected me on was my thumbs being "inside" the wheel and not "outside". What he said was normal car wheels can snap back and catch your thumbs sometimes (flatter wheels) however if your using a deep dish or a close example of that you did not need to worry so much as it would not catch you if it spun.
Your thoughts on that?
Yep, 10-2 is wrong. If you look at steering wheels on modern sports cars (usually more pronounced on theirs) you'll see thumb grips at 9-2, just above the spokes. So yea your thumbs grip around the inside of the wheel. They are designed to be held like that and the airbag is also designed for that grip.
The only cars you don't do that on are from before power steering was around. Also when offroading.
*imagine you see this dude in his car doing these movements with steering wheel on parking lot several minutes* 😅
Is it good if my right hand is on 2 o clock and my left on 7-8 o clock? Im only doing sim racing, but in a few years i will get a drivers license and it would be good to know if driving this way is even safe
I've got in a habbit of driving at 10 and 4 is that bad?
I started driving three weeks ago, and automatically seem to be in good habits - my hands go 9 and 3 by default :D
if you do it once you will instantly feel more comfortable. Especially with a good seat positioning :D
a knob on the weel was made for heavy machinery without servo like some old trucks
lots of tractors hav'em as well. Really useful, since you need to do really tight turns quickly. Of course your going really slow so it works well
In my volvo 240 without power steering I always steer straight from the core if I need force, so mainly upwards force on the wheel.
fucking hipster you
I think the biggest problem with "shuffle steering" is the name. If you're shuffling the wheel then it's slow and annoying, but if you actually use all of the wheel then it becomes a lot more useful. If you're steering right, for example, your right hand should start at the top of the wheel and pull all the way to the bottom. Doing it this way means that you use about twice as much of the wheel as this guy does. Also, the correct term is pull-push steering.
I drive one handed around town, but two hands on the open road or when hooning.
I naturally gravitated to the 9-3 position, it just is optimal I thought
Nice to know I had that right
People who park by shuffling the wheel probably don't know where their wheels are pointing half the time. That's also the people who would try to free their car from a stuck situation with the wheels pointing in a useless direction. I like to palm the wheel especially when parking a big rig (in simulator), because then I always know exactly where my wheels are pointing. When I drift in simulator, I obviously can't palm the wheel quickly enough, so I tend to go hand over hand. When I let the wheel slip into the drift by itself, I still need to pay close attention to how far it turned, because at the end of the drift, you need to open the steering up precisely and very quickly, otherwise the car snaps into the other direction.
If you lose track of where the wheels are pointing while shuffle steering you are doing something wrong, also shuffle steering is common place in drifting, exiting a drift is the the most common use for it as you wind off steering angle and straighten out.
This is what i was looking for thank you
What about tour thumbs? I've heard for any kind of performance off road driving to always keep your thumbs out of the steering wheel or risk them being broken. Is this true?
Matthew Millar you just need to know when to move them. I personally like to keep them wrapped around the steering wheel until i need to move my hands to get more steering angle.
When you totally lose control, like spinning or rolling, you're supposed to have your fingers out of the spokes so you don't break them
Off-roading can sometimes spin the wheel with thumb-whacking violence if the vehicle gets levered on terrain in a certain way.
Explain me the Situation if u have skinny and girly hands VS crumple big Steel hand? which are good for them??
It depends on the car, my Focus ZX3 has an SVT steering wheel and I like to grip that one at just over 8 and 4. My Abarth 500 has a thicker wheel and that one is more comfortable at just under 10 and 2.
No, it doesn’t depend all the car.
@@fifthbusiness1678 yes it does. The hand holes ate different.
Steering wheel design has sort of "officialized" 9 and 3 with button placement.
Atleast for me. But I smoked while I drove for many years so the arm out the window hand on top the wheel position is still by and large my default. Old habits...
Driving schools actually teach 9 and 3 now
At least, they do where I live
In the uk they tell you whatever is comfortable as long as you are in control and its safe
the shuffle works fine if you don't do little granny shuffles as demonstrated, take big bites or you can not turn the steering wheel fast enough, for a right turn if you have your hands at 9 and 3 move the right hand from 3 to 11 or 12 and pull the wheel down to 5, allows you to move your left hand from 9 down to grip the wheel at 7 or 8 and then push the wheel around to 1 or 2, take big bites, racing or high performance vehicle steering racks may not need as much movement as a street rack in your daily driver, check it out, a bend that tightens unexpectedly at 80mph is not the place to find out with your arms all crossed over as far as you can go that you don't have enough steering to get around the corner, most race tracks will have kitty litter or a grass area to run into if you miss a turn, the Rimutaka Hill doesn't, go and practice, what gets you the most turn of the wheel the fastest while keeping as much contact with the wheel as you can, crossing the arms gives only half the lock in my car, there a old drivers and bold drivers but very few old bold drivers
What about the steering ratio? It will always suck without changing it
Depends on the car, but yes a quick steering ratio is always nice!
Love the Seiko SKX making an cameo in the video. Great overall messaging for drivers especially if you plan on driving spirited in any way!
Great Vid! TY!!!
I am a new driver. I went out on a driving lesson this afternoon for two hours. I have a driving lesson on Sunday morning too! I like going on driving lessons. I take my road test September 2nd at noon. Wish me luck! I want my license so badly.
Goodluck!
@@allieex776 Thank you so much.
Shuffle da wheel, my favourite movement.
I do 9 and 1:40. Seems to work better than 9 and 3 for me. Not sure why.
My problem is: I drive at 9 and 3, but the roads I drive on (and occasionally my stupid goofing around driving) require more than steering input to 6 o' clock. This happens a lot to me and I end up having my hands crossed when trying to get to say 10 o' clock, which messes me up. I understand the shuffle type thing but I just can't bring myself to do it because I never do it and it just feels slow and odd when you're going 60 around a "left 4, don't cut" lmao!
Use the "pull" technique. Lets say your hands are at 9&3, and you're approaching a tight corner going to the right. I move the hand that's at 3 to just above the hand at 9, and pull the hand which was at 3, back to 3. If more steering is needed, I am already steering to the right, but my hands are at 9&3, so I can turn the wheel normally- in my Civic, I can do this until I reach 2&8. To straighten up, I put the wheel back to 9&3, keep the hand at 9 where it is, and move the hand at 3 to just above 9, and its going straight again. Slide the hand back to 3 and you're ready for the next corner.
My issue is that I can't get a good reach from the right seating distance in my hyundai accent because there's no reach adjustment, only tilt. Because of the inevitable excessive distance, It's much easier for me to hold at about 5 and 9 o'clock. Any suggestions?
Also. Is it true that hooking your thumbs into the crevice at the 9 and 3 spot is a high risk of injury to them in the event of air bag deployment?
just out of curiosity, how much is rally school at Team O'Neil and what all does it entail?
There are different options, check out: www.teamoneil.com
Can we see a pic of the bottom of the tyre after that?
Thumbs in.. and UP Dude. !
Every video of every pro racing driver ever you will see their hands at 9 and 3 the entire time
Any opinions on 9 and 4? Sometimes when driving manual, it just feels right 🤷♂️
Uh ... no. Just no.
21 or 6 is good sometime i turn race mode on 9 & 4