Why do people drive with both hands on the steering wheel?

[snooker]

If a front tire blows out and you are only steering with one hand you will 100% of the time lose control of your vehicle and crash off the road. With both hands, you can save it and pull over on your own, not get jerked over and flip or something else.....

 

[alkemyst]

Darwin Theory...those one-handed driving 'experts' know what to do.

I recommend tested these uber skill at speed in the rain through standing water and on uneven pavement as well.

Get back with us.

 

[misterj]

Originally posted by: Dari
Unless you ambi-dexterous (sic?), it's very dangerous to drive with both hands. It can be hard to coordinate both hands to do what you want. Things can get more dicey if the situation is critical, forcing you to think fast. I like to drive with my right-hand (I'm right-handed) on the 12:00 position of the steering wheel. Driving at 9 and 3 is dangerous IMHO.

haha a simple case of ignorance and inexperience. not to poke at you personally, but to educate all the young gangstas reading this.

 

[Lithium381]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I crank steer with my left hand always. I picked it up when I started driving stick, now I do it on automatics even.

Edit: oh, and the reason people drive with both hands is because thats how you're suppose too. Or at least, thats what they say in drivers ed.

i do the same, really only use my left hand, unless it's a really tight corner or i'm parallel parking

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Vic
In a RWD car, you increase throttle to induce oversteer and decrease throttle to reduce it. If you are in an oversteer slide in an RWD with a manual trans, it is generally safer to throw in the clutch than to drop the gas suddenly, as coming off the throttle too quickly could cause an overcorrection.

In an FWD car, you decrease throttle to induce oversteer and increase to reduce it. Too much throttle can induce an nasty understeer condition.

AWD cars balance between the 2, with a tendency to understeer at turn-on and then to oversteer out of the apex.

Snap oversteer? If you are at the edge of traction around a curve and lift off the throttle, that back end will whip around faster than the speed of light.

Actually, on a RWD car adding throttle brings the back end IN, and widens your turn due to the change in weight distribution. It's counterintuitive, but what happens is that the weight shifts to the back, tightening the rear end and giving the front end (turning tires) less traction.

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
There must be something wrong with one of your arms. I see what you're saying, but in practical terms all race car drivers use both hands at both times unless they're changing gears.

I drive all types of equipment/vehicles as part of my job,

2 hands on the wheel,as much as possible.

Drive an old pickup without power steering for a week;you will get used to using 2 hands.

{even a not so old like,1974 4x4 Dodge,LOL}

 

[rh71]

one hand is for cruising in a straight/semi-straight line with little/no traffic... no matter how fast/slow you're going. I keep just my left hand at 6 or 9 o'clock (turn signals).

two hands is for when you're in tight traffic at high speeds or if there are bumps/potholes. I keep it at 3 / 9 o'clock then.

 

[Anubis]

im right handed

drive with my left hand about 7 oclock position
because its comfortable there for long driveing

in the city i use both or 1 or the other at 3 or 9

 

[Juno]

I'm right-handed but I drive with my left hand on 12 o'clock position.

I actually picked it up when I was driving shift. Now I still do the same on auto.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I drive one handed, because I can't drink my beer with both hands on the steering wheel.

 

[Twista]

thats wut they made me do when i took behind the wheel at school and plus to get your lisences you need to. Why do people drive like that? Well why do you post on anandtech? Because you feel like it.

 

[mobiusman]

Originally posted by: Shockwave

Originally posted by: mobiusman

Originally posted by: glugglug
Situations where you would hydroplane and you are in a GM (Pontiac) car is the perfect example of where 2 hands are needed.

The reason is because GMs all have exposed wiring underneath which will short when you go through more than an inch or 2 of water at speed. When this happens, the first result (if it's not bad enough to stall you which it usually isn't) is that you will temporarily lose power steering. 1-handed non-power steering sucks.

It's pretty amazing that an electrical short would cause a belt driven power steering pump to fail...
I really hope your post was also a joke, like half of this thread.

Its very true. Ford Taurus's power steering will fial (And its belt driven) if you have a tranmission senser fail.

Arent you the mechanically inclined one.... :roll:

It's even more amazing that an electrical short on a Ford would cause a GM to lose it's power steering.
It's assumed that glugglug is talking about your older pontiac you mentioned earlier in this post Shockwave.

Aren't you the literate one.... :roll:

 

[MDE]

I drive with my hands at 9 and 12 (left arm on the armrest). Laziness plus the ability to quickly react and get them at 10 and 2 or 9 and 3.

 

[Dari]

well, I tried driving with both hands the other day. But things changed quickly cause my right-hand had far more control My left-hand ended up being a drag. At least for me, I have far more control with one hand than with two. Whenever I get into trouble (raining, emergency turns) my left hand would usually over-react.

You guys here have to remember that driving is like walking or eating, it's all done mostly subconcously (sic?). If you have both hands at the wheel, and one has more control, you can overdo things. With one hand gripping the wheel at 12:00, IMHO, you get far better control over the wheels.

I actually don't remember how i drove when I was getting my license. But I do remember that I wasn't doing more than 30 mph, so two-hands wasn't really a factor.

Again, if you're going 100-160 mph, a little nudge on the steering wheel can have you going a greater distance than 10 mph. BMW's active steering tries to balance that but it's difficult when you, not the car, prefer to be in control.

As for those talking about fish-tailing and needing two-hands, it's pure bs. Whenever I'm in that situation, you just have to respond (opposite) to what the car is doing. That, again, requires delicate control.

As for going off road or encountering big bumps, one-hand at 12:00 naturally goes in the opposite direction of the front-wheels, giving you balance. It's much easier to go with the flow with one hand than it is with both hands trying to go straight. Turning the wheels in the opposite direction of where the car/truck is heading is better if you wanna go straight than getting both hands to steer the car in that direction. Again, for me, this all plays out subconsciously, letting me think about what to do next.

For those talking about getting smacked in the fact because of the positioning of the hand. Well, I'll have no hands on the wheel cause I'll be bailing out of the car (j/k). Seriously, I haven't come to that point because, like I said earlier, the brakes are your friend.

 

[palle33]

if I go straight forward I use only 2 of my fingers..thats enuogh for me

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Dari
well, I tried driving with both hands the other day. But things changed quickly cause my right-hand had far more control My left-hand ended up being a drag. At least for me, I have far more control with one hand than with two. Whenever I get into trouble (raining, emergency turns) my left hand would usually over-react.

You guys here have to remember that driving is like walking or eating, it's all done mostly subconcously (sic?). If you have both hands at the wheel, and one has more control, you can overdo things. With one hand gripping the wheel at 12:00, IMHO, you get far better control over the wheels.

I actually don't remember how i drove when I was getting my license. But I do remember that I wasn't doing more than 30 mph, so two-hands wasn't really a factor.

Again, if you're going 100-160 mph, a little nudge on the steering wheel can have you going a greater distance than 10 mph. BMW's active steering tries to balance that but it's difficult when you, not the car, prefer to be in control.

As for those talking about fish-tailing and needing two-hands, it's pure bs. Whenever I'm in that situation, you just have to respond (opposite) to what the car is doing. That, again, requires delicate control.

As for going off road or encountering big bumps, one-hand at 12:00 naturally goes in the opposite direction of the front-wheels, giving you balance. It's much easier to go with the flow with one hand than it is with both hands trying to go straight. Turning the wheels in the opposite direction of where the car/truck is heading is better if you wanna go straight than getting both hands to steer the car in that direction. Again, for me, this all plays out subconsciously, letting me think about what to do next.

For those talking about getting smacked in the fact because of the positioning of the hand. Well, I'll have no hands on the wheel cause I'll be bailing out of the car (j/k). Seriously, I haven't come to that point because, like I said earlier, the brakes are your friend.

In a couple years when you finally get to do all this in real life, you will see Gran Turismo 3 is just a little different than real driving, even if you have that Momo FF wheel.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Why is everyone so concerned with 'fast reactions'? Most driving mistakes that have anything to do with steering at all are either 'over-reaction' or 'no-reaction'. The reaction needs to be fast but much more importantly, it needs to be controlled. There's no doubt that one hand at 12:00 on a power-steering equipped car can whip the wheel that first quarter-turn faster than any other grip... but that isn't the point. If you can't point the wheel quickly AND correctly, you're fvcked anyway. Without two hands on the wheel, your hand will generally be in a good position to either turn or stop the wheel; but rarely to do both; therefore the overall level of control is not good.

I think every driver should have to go to skid-school to get a license at all (or take a test on a wet or icy parking lot). I would have avoided quite a few near-misses altogether in my first two years of driving if I had been made to do so (rwd mustang hatchback with NO rear grip, on icy roads).

I'll admit to holding the steering wheel at about 7 (bottom half of the wheel, to avoid accidental swerving) when I'm on the highway, but in the city, it's two hands unless i'm actually shifting.

Oh - and you should get your shifting and braking out of the way before the corner... I can't imagine needing to shift on anything but the longest sweeping curves.

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: Dari
well, I tried driving with both hands the other day. But things changed quickly cause my right-hand had far more control My left-hand ended up being a drag. At least for me, I have far more control with one hand than with two. Whenever I get into trouble (raining, emergency turns) my left hand would usually over-react.

You guys here have to remember that driving is like walking or eating, it's all done mostly subconcously (sic?). If you have both hands at the wheel, and one has more control, you can overdo things. With one hand gripping the wheel at 12:00, IMHO, you get far better control over the wheels.

I actually don't remember how i drove when I was getting my license. But I do remember that I wasn't doing more than 30 mph, so two-hands wasn't really a factor.

Again, if you're going 100-160 mph, a little nudge on the steering wheel can have you going a greater distance than 10 mph. BMW's active steering tries to balance that but it's difficult when you, not the car, prefer to be in control.

As for those talking about fish-tailing and needing two-hands, it's pure bs. Whenever I'm in that situation, you just have to respond (opposite) to what the car is doing. That, again, requires delicate control.

As for going off road or encountering big bumps, one-hand at 12:00 naturally goes in the opposite direction of the front-wheels, giving you balance. It's much easier to go with the flow with one hand than it is with both hands trying to go straight. Turning the wheels in the opposite direction of where the car/truck is heading is better if you wanna go straight than getting both hands to steer the car in that direction. Again, for me, this all plays out subconsciously, letting me think about what to do next.

For those talking about getting smacked in the fact because of the positioning of the hand. Well, I'll have no hands on the wheel cause I'll be bailing out of the car (j/k). Seriously, I haven't come to that point because, like I said earlier, the brakes are your friend.

So you still haven't learned how to drive.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie
I think every driver should have to go to skid-school to get a license at all (or take a test on a wet or icy parking lot). I would have avoided quite a few near-misses altogether in my first two years of driving if I had been made to do so (rwd mustang hatchback with NO rear grip, on icy roads).

Skid school should be an extra class...there is a lot more to driving than just controlling skids...learn to avoid them first.

I'll admit to holding the steering wheel at about 7 (bottom half of the wheel, to avoid accidental swerving) when I'm on the highway, but in the city, it's two hands unless i'm actually shifting.

I have no idea how this avoids accidental swerving....wierd

Oh - and you should get your shifting and braking out of the way before the corner... I can't imagine needing to shift on anything but the longest sweeping curves.

In simple situations yeah, but you usually shift at the apex or so to power out of a turn....a corner and curve are two very different things you are talking about. For a corner brake, downshift and make your turn not much to think about or get fancy with.

 

I can't believe any of you are questioning the fact that you have more control with two hands on the wheel.

Are you morons?

 

[CFster]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I can't believe any of you are questioning the fact that you have more control with two hands on the wheel.

Are you morons?

 

[Ilmater]

How in the world is this thread still going?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I can't believe any of you are questioning the fact that you have more control with two hands on the wheel.

Are you morons?

No we aren't

However with that hand you have free driving with the other one, be sure to raise it high when you hear your question next.

Hold your hand high you earned it!

 

[NeoHC421]

Originally posted by: Dari
Unless you ambi-dexterous (sic?), it's very dangerous to drive with both hands. It can be hard to coordinate both hands to do what you want. Things can get more dicey if the situation is critical, forcing you to think fast. I like to drive with my right-hand (I'm right-handed) on the 12:00 position of the steering wheel. Driving at 9 and 3 is dangerous IMHO.

hahah.. hard to coordinate your left and right hands? I hope your joking. Not that it matters for me since i drive with my KNEES! Now, coordinating your left and right knees, that's a challenge...

 

[Mill]

Moron.