Where do you guys hold the wheel?

[Prestovie]

Was thinking about this today while I was driving so I thought I'd do a little poll: how do you guys hold your steering wheel?
Personally I shift from left hand directly on top to left hand on bottom cradling the left side of the stalk.
Everyone has their different comforts, and there will be obvious differences when it comes to preference both on and off the track, but still curious nonetheless and I think it would be cool to see how different folks drive their ZHP's.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170615/a603cf1d2690966907475561f601a748.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170615/c6eb73b546fee045b85770b8cd877157.jpg


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[704sw]

9:00 and 3:00. If I'm on the interstate I'll change it up somewhat often only because I'm nervous about wearing out this Coby wheel.

[slater]

9+3, or alternating between 9+3 and 10+2 on the highway as i'm a bit of a fidgety person. rarely just 10 (the 'farmer' position, LOL!) on the highway.

9+3 offers the most control.

[danewilson77]

Red

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[holyc0w]

Naturally, as BMW drivers we should all be doing red and the purple on the inside.


9:00 and 3:00. If I'm on the interstate I'll change it up somewhat often only because I'm nervous about wearing out this Coby wheel.

I usually do 9 and 3, but sometimes do 10 and 2 to use the awesome thumb-rests. Never 12 and 6

[BMWCurves]

5 and 7 with my knees, exclusively.

[Prestovie]

I'll change it up somewhat often only because I'm nervous about wearing out this Coby wheel.

Lol that's definitely becoming a factor for myself too, my top part of the Coby Wheel is all matted down now [emoji26]


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[704sw]

5 and 7 with my knees, exclusively.

I'm both ashamed and proud (it's an interesting feeling) of how far I drove on a state highway to the beach with just my knee one time in the Mazda. It was something like 115 continuous miles. Young me was stupid me.

Lol that's definitely becoming a factor for myself too, my top part of the Coby Wheel is all matted down now [emoji26]

You driving red? The thug life chose you, and not the other way around.

[wstr75]

I find myself driving probably 70% of the time one handed and it is usually my left hand at the 9 position. I'm right handed and it is an unconscious reflex. When driving one handed with my right hand, it is in the 3 position. Sometimes I lap my left hand's wrist over the top at the 12 position, leaving my hand dangling down. When in that position, I am turned sideways a bit and have my right arm/elbow resting on the console. This happens when on a long trip and am tired of being in one position. I am on the shorter side but wear 35" length sleeve shirts so that may explain the driving with the wrist at the 12 position.

[Prestovie]

Sometimes I lap my left hand's wrist over the top at the 12 position, leaving my hand dangling down. When in that position, I am turned sideways a bit and have my right arm/elbow resting on the console. This happens when on a long trip and am tired of being in one position. I am on the shorter side but wear 35" length sleeve shirts so that may explain the driving with the wrist at the 12 position.
THIS right here is a perfect explanation, one hand on twelve slightly leaned over to the right is such a comfortable position for tall people/people with long arms



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[Oli77]

Blue

[johnrando]

Everyone of those positions depending on mood, traffic, how long in car, etc. Generally 10 n 2, 9 n 3 when driving hard.

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[Rovert]

98% of the time it's 9 and 3. Any other way is a compromise to handle your 3400lbs of joy or yourself should something happen. I don't like being driven to do things on "what if" circumstances but I've had the pleasure (or displeasure) to experience an airbag go off in a full frontal collision that decimated the front of a non BMW product which saved me from harm. After that experience I just can't have my arms in anyway shape or form in the path of an airbag. When properly seated it's very comfortable to be at 9 & 3 as my driving instructors have taught since I learned to drive two decades ago.

In really slow traffic after many cars bunch up behind me creating a good buffer if a semi decides not to see traffic, I'll sometimes use my knee to hold the wheel steady so I can pretend I'm in a new BMW that autonomously steers for me. [emoji23]

[Sockethead]

Everyone of those positions depending on mood, traffic, how long in car, etc. Generally 10 n 2, 9 n 3 when driving hard.



This about sums it up for me too !

[cakM3]

When cruising I usually tend to favor the "red" position but occasionally go to the 7 o'clock position. In twisties, I go to the 9n3.

[az3579]

THIS right here is a perfect explanation, one hand on twelve slightly leaned over to the right is such a comfortable position for tall people/people with long arms



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Funny thing is, you're not reaching as much if you have a proper seating position with your hands at 9 and 3. Less of a reach = less stress = more comfort.


98% of the time it's 9 and 3. Any other way is a compromise to handle your 3400lbs of joy or yourself should something happen. I don't like being driven to do things on "what if" circumstances but I've had the pleasure (or displeasure) to experience an airbag go off in a full frontal collision that decimated the front of a non BMW product which saved me from harm. After that experience I just can't have my arms in anyway shape or form in the path of an airbag. When properly seated it's very comfortable to be at 9 & 3 as my driving instructors have taught since I learned to drive two decades ago.



This, 1000%. I get a VERY uneasy feeling when I see people around me driving with one hand at 12, not necessarily because of the airbag, but because if any accident avoidance maneuver has to be done, they're not gonna make it.

The FIRST thing I do as a Street Survival coach is make sure the student is seated properly and has the correct hand position.


9 and 3, all day long. Best control, best comfort, and safest.

[BMWCurves]

Also, if you're afraid of an accident, don't loop your thumb around the wheel. That can do some serious damage to your thumb joint in an accident.

[BADCLOWN]

I'm between yellow and purple on the plastic trim above the buttons when casually driving/avoiding putting g my hands all over the Coby rewrapped wheel. If not there then my elbow is resting on the door and I'm holding it at blue area

[az3579]

Also, if you're afraid of an accident, don't loop your thumb around the wheel. That can do some serious damage to your thumb joint in an accident.

Out of curiosity, where did you see this information?
Watching the E46 Euro NCAP crash test, it seems as though the thumb wouldn't be affected based on how the airbag is coming out of the center of the wheel.
For reference - skip to 29 seconds. For some reason it's not starting where I told it to start:


http://youtu.be/JNvrpA6mlSo?t=29s

[BMWCurves]

No statistics, unfortunately. It's what I've heard from both my driving instructor from over a decade ago as well as my sister who's an ortho surgeon. She has had to repair various hand injuries due to car accidents, most often caused by head-on accidents according to the EMTs/ER docs who have transferred the patients to her service.

Take it as you may. I still loop my thumbs around the steering wheel so...

[holyc0w]

I found some report about hand injuries from car accidents (caution: graphic images included): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4349845/

Don't click before eating and probably after.

[az3579]

Interesting. I figured with the design of the airbag and how it ejects, I thought it would completely bypass the thumb. Perhaps it depends on the car model?

Edit: no idea why it quoted the wrong post, so I just removed the quote...

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[holyc0w]

Yeah, I would figure it would be more the force of the wheel going into the thumb, but not the airbag.

[Rovert]

It's amazing just how instant an airbag goes off from first "hand" experience. I feel for the people who are not properly educated on seating position, for people who are just too stubborn to seat correctly, and for those who have little choice because physically they can't be seated properly. If your arms are super short and you're seat is forced to be in an extreme forward position, that airbag is just going to hit you hard. When you're in a crash, fight or flight mode activates and adrenaline floods the body. You'll be amazed how tensed your body will become. That super human strength can hold a steering wheel so hard that a person's locked fingers could not handle the force of an explosive airbag.

[BMWCurves]

I found some report about hand injuries from car accidents (caution: graphic images included): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4349845/

Don't click before eating and probably after.

Interesting that the first case was a passenger, not a driver. Seems to have been caused by putting her hands/thumb joint over the area of the airbag cover in front of her on the dashboard. Pretty impressive that at the 2 year mark post-op she only had slight numbness and stiffness as had regained most of the joint's mobility.

[Sockethead]

I've had two air bag deployments as a driver, the first was in a '92 econoline van when I rear-ended a pickup. My forearms got pretty scratched up from that. I'm not really sure where my hands were on that one. The second was when I hit a deer in my '96 Taurus. No injuries at all from that one. I'm pretty sure my hands were at 9:00 and 3:00.
The air bag inflates a deflates so quickly that you're not even aware that it deployed other than the cloud of powder that fills the car. I looked down and saw the deflated bag sitting there.

[danewilson77]

I think the thumb injury is due to impact, not Air bag deployment.

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[Karl Lazlo]

I think the thumb injury is due to impact, not Air bag deployment.

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That has been my experience (purely academic). Drivers who get hand and digit injury from accidents are usually a result of camming the thumb inside the steering wheel.

As a rule, I cam my thumb out of the wheel for a few reasons.

[Not_Special]

5 and 7 with my knees, exclusively.

Lol :rofl

[Don Adolfo]

10 & 2 95% of the time. 44 years driving in large cities and third world countries 0 at fault accidents, and only fender benders. I'll take my chances at 10 & 2.


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[Go Horns!]

When driving with purpose, 9&3. Who knows the rst of the time.

[orange260z]

These days 9 & 3, but used to be more of a 10 & 2 guy. When I first took high-performance driving courses in the 1990s, we were told that either was perfectly acceptable and it was a matter of preference.

On the highway, just to change it up, sometimes I'll add 11 & 5 into the mix.