Passengers don't feel comfortable
Posted by SatisfactionFun4767@reddit | driving | View on Reddit | 32 comments
Hello everyone, I am an amateur driver who's had the courage to drive for maybe a week now. I usually have one of my friends as a passenger just so I have someone I can rely on by my side. They say the way I brake is clean and that I drive pretty safely. However, everyone keeps telling me that I am holding the steering wheel like I am holding on to dear life. I apply the "9:15" rule that they teach in the driving school but I guess that makes me look insecure? I've been told it is really common among new drivers but holding the steering wheel with both hands just feels natural to me. I know it is impossible for you to judge the situation unless I provide a picture or two, but... I guess my question Is: is it really something common for new drivers? Is there anything I can do about it other than just keep driving? Thank you all in advance.
Accomplished-Act8616@reddit
When I see drive 2 hands it makes me think they seem stress and to cautions
Background_Gene9874@reddit
F1 and Rally drivers use two hands. 🤷🏾‍♂️
FamiliarRadio9275@reddit
Too cautious is never an issue when driving as you need to be.
1ndomitablespirit@reddit
When you're a new driver, you are consciously thinking about every part of driving. The more you drive, though, the more natural the actual act of driving becomes. I haven't thought about where to put my hands for decades.
The stuff they teach you for the driving test are good rules, but they aren't rigid rules that will make you a bad driver if you don't follow to the letter. You keep your hands on 9 and 3 of an analog clock, where I tend to put my hands at 10 and 2.
Most often, I am driving with one hand. One arm is out the window, or maybe the other hand is on the shifter.
You should just eventually get to a point where your body starts acting like driving a car is as simple as walking. You will just know when a turn requires the hand over hand method, or if you can just turn the wheel with your palm. It takes some time and practice to build the muscle memory.
So, yes, in an emergency situation, you should have both hands on the wheel, ready to steer away from danger, but nobody can drive like that for long. Being stiff and worrying too much about the physical process of driving is far more dangerous than calmly holding the wheel with one hand.
Eventually your conscious thoughts about driving will be "I want to go there" and your body will do all the things to make that happen.
Background_Gene9874@reddit
I’ve been driving for over 20 years and there’s no day that I drive where I don’t think about driving. When I’m driving, my mind always comes back to the fact that I’m driving a 3k lb death trap. Driving is literally the most dangerous thing you do and you go about it as if you’re walking? You don’t feel uncomfortable?
mind_the_umlaut@reddit
(Oh, shit! Don't listen to these old farts who have been driving their own way for decades, and nothin' bad ever happened to them! Drive one-handed, hang your arm out the window, get REAL comfortable, you'll have all the time in the world to get both hands back on the wheel if there's an emergency! Seriously, woe betide you, Old Fart, if your airbag goes off, and your hands are at 10 and 2. Or if one hand is at the top of the wheel. Drag yourself into the present century, and be a safer, more mindful driver. Signed, Also Old Fart)
Sh4wnSm1th@reddit
Agreed on this so much. To add on to something as well, in my state they push the idea of using both hands at all times even when resetting the wheel. In reality, moving the wheel back by force, rather than letting it reset on it's own, actually creates more issue. Once I passed my test, I do a lot more palming & sliding, rather than heavy control on the wheel. It is far easier and creates less chance for me to cross my arms while driving.
licklickRickmyballs@reddit
I am a new driver aswell but i am really enjoying this. Feeling so cool strolling, with one arm out the window lol :-D
mind_the_umlaut@reddit
You do EXACTLY what they told you in driver's ed. It's the right thing to do. How long ago did *these people* learn to drive? Your knowledge and training is the most up-to-date. Did *they* learn to drive before or after airbags were made standard? Airbags are why we place our hands at the 9 and 3 positions. They sound like they are trying to drag you down into their stance of obsolete knowledge, and they are trying to hide their ignorance with defensive bluster. And my, oh, my, I've just found one of your relatives here in the comments. Airbags are now standard. So are back-up cameras, and other equipment since they all learned to drive.
K_N0RRIS@reddit
Drive however makes you most comfortable. Your friends or passengers shouldnt care how you drive as long as its safe.
Glassfern@reddit
White knuckling it? We've all been there. I still get like that when I enter a new town or city or weird highway situation. It's good to take a very deep breath ,fill your lungs full and let it slowly go and stretch your fingers. You don't need to grip all the time. You can rest your thumbs on the center controls. As you continue to drive you'll relax into it more.
CalligrapherDizzy201@reddit
9:15 rule?
FamiliarRadio9275@reddit
I think for the people that have a problem for ones to have both hands on the wheel needs a reality check. That’s okay if YOU palm it or use one hand, but don’t invalidate others for doing a safer position or what makes them feel more comfort. Yes airbags can cause your arms to break and stuff but they can also break your neck (for the people that like for some reason lean all the way back while driving) and many other things. I don’t know the right position to sit in my car to avoid the least amount of airbag damage as possible but however I’d rather the air bag cause me a curable injury than the terrible alternative. Â
All of this to the side, if everyone is cautious and watches where they are going we’ll be fine.Â
NV-Nautilus@reddit
You probably just look stiff. I doubt there's anything wrong with your driving. I've gotten the same judgements before from my friends when I use two hands. However, I know I have more experience and skill driving than them and I went to drivers Ed unlike any of them.
robomassacre@reddit
Both hands on the wheel is safer, i use 10 and 2.
MickiesMajikKingdom@reddit
With airbags, 10 & 2 is more dangerous. If you get in an accident & the airbag deploys, you're more at risk of not only chemical burns, but fractions burns from the cover/deploying airbag, amd there have been cases of drivers having their wrists broken by a deploying airbag.
robomassacre@reddit
I'm a CDL driver so i guess it's just habit at this point.
MickiesMajikKingdom@reddit
Have they started putting airbags in trucks yet?
robomassacre@reddit
Not on any that i drive
MickiesMajikKingdom@reddit
I didn't think they had. Makes sense. I feel like any collision in a semi that's severe enough to require airbag deployment would likely be fatal for other reasons, if that makes sense.
robomassacre@reddit
Completely agree
revaric@reddit
For airbags they say 8 and 4 now, but 9 and 3 is what engineers design to.
MickiesMajikKingdom@reddit
Yeah, I can see that. I'm more of a "left hand at 8-ish, left elbow on the door's armrest" driver. But for two- handed driving, 8 & 4 always felt more relaxed and less fatiguing than 10 & 2
revaric@reddit
9 and 3 (9:15) is where engineers have designed hand placement to be. Sounds like your friends are ignorant and projecting that ignorance.
Sad-Character4424@reddit
it comes with comfort! i’ve started moving my hands down the wheel the more i drive :)
Dry-Faithlessness184@reddit
Yep, for cruising I used to have both hands.
Now it's one, typically near the bottom just keeping the car straight. My other hand near enough for hand over hand if suddenly needed.
I know someone who drives one hand on top, and it just looks both uncomfortable and that they are white knuckling the wheel. I can see how that would make someone uncomfortable compared to a more relaxed posture
Mammoth_Pack_6442@reddit
I have three hands so I always keep two on the wheel brah
DaJohnnyB23@reddit
I don’t know if I’m interpreting things correctly, but first, “9:15?” At least to my knowledge that’s new to me. If I’m reading into it correctly, passengers have a problem with you holding the wheel with both hands? Beginners/learners are supposed to do that and I guess to maybe get technical we should have both hands on the wheel for what is considered safe driving. Now obviously not everyone does for one reason or another. My younger days yes I’d do that as it more “comfortable” and it was a sign of being “cool.”
Nowadays, since maybe like 2015, I drive majority with both hands. Maybe not necessarily out of being safe, but I’m an enthusiast so I hold the wheel like I’m a race driver. Now driving much sportier cars than I did in my teen/early-20s maybe plays a factor too but the biggest reason is car control. I’m a 9&3 guy. That’s where I have the most control for basically any situation. Need to maneuver out of the way of an object or pothole quickly? Then I can do that without unsettling the car. Curvy roads ahead? As an enthusiast I’m licking my chops at that, but with both hands on the wheel I can transition between those turns smoothly.
haus11@reddit
I think 9:15 is the same as 9 and 3. It would like calling the 10 and 2 position 10:10.
DaJohnnyB23@reddit
That’s kind of what I thought. Just didn’t want to assume.
DaJohnnyB23@reddit
If this adds anything to “argument.” That car control came in handy after leaving work. Asshat made zero attempt at stopping out of a strip mall’s exit. Likely didn’t look for any traffic either so he pulled out in front of me and I had to stomp on the brake and veer out of the way to avoid contact.
a-_2@reddit
I've never heard 9:15 before. Technically it would leave your hands asymmetrical but I guess they mean 9 and 3 which is the way I've heard it described.
If people make fun of it maybe ask them why F1 drivers hold it that way instead of slinging one arm over the top of the wheel.
It gives you more range of motion before you have to let go of the wheel with either hand. It keeps your arms clear of the airbag in case it deploys. It helps keep your back straight and reduce strain and tiredness. It makes sure you're able to respond to an emergency more quickly. It increases the chance you keep control if you hit something like a pothole.
Most people don't hold it like this. Majority doing something doesn't make that thing right. Try to keep good habits instead of falling into bad ones. At some point it might save you from a crash.