Steering

There are many different methods for steering a car. 
Over the years some methods were not useable during the driving test and others were deemed a bit sketchy.

As technology has evolved and using a steering wheel has become much easier to operate, the guidance from the DVSA has evolved as well.

The 3 main methods of steering are:-

Push Pull Steering.

Hand over Hand steering.

Palming.

Misconceptions

One of the biggest misconceptions learner drivers have when it comes to steering a car is HOW MUCH travel there is in a steering wheel!

How much is the fact that not many realise a steering wheel on a car can rotate nearly 3 full turns from one extreme to the other.
This then causes them to not put on enough steering to get a car around a corner.
Then once they do realise how much a steering can actually move they can go in the total opposite direction and place on too much steering and can't work out where center is or where their wheels are pointing.

Learners who may have done Go-Karting in the past will have misconceptions due to the fast steering the get from a quick steering rack
that are fitted to Go-karts. Most Go-Karts will allow full lock to be placed on the steering with less than half a turn of the steering wheel.

It is advisable to explain how much a steering wheel can travel, on your very first lesson, or at least ask your pupil if they know how much a steering wheel can rotate.


Why most instructor recommend the Push Pull Method.

For many years drivers when learning were taught that hand over hand steering whilst on a driving test would evoke a failure, and this was true at the time.
As the years have progressed, modern technology and vehicle equipment being installed has made the control of a car much easier.
Power steering has been a huge contributing factor to this.
However, that being said, cars now have Airbags and they can deploy at speed on average of 220mph.
Therefore, using hand over hand steering could cause implications in the event of an accident.
Therefore, the use of Push Pull steering has been the preferred method of safer steering so that should an Airbag deploy, your hands are on the outside of the steering wheel and the Airbag has the freedom to do the job it was intended for, and that was to protect your head in the event of a collision and Airbag deployment.
Should hands be used in the hand over hand method, it is possible your hands would get in the way potentially causing them damage or even projecting your hands in the direction of your face at 220mph. This isn't going to feel nice at all!

PUSH PUL METHOD


How to position hands on the steering wheel and steer using the push pull method.
This method is considered the safest way to steer a car with the least amount of effort and maintain the maximum amount of control.
Firstly we need to know where we should place our hands.
Imagine you are looking at a clock face when looking at the steering wheel.
You ideally want to position the left hand at either 10 or 9 O'clock and the right hand at 2 or 3 O'clock
This will allow the maximum amount of leverage when required to move the steering wheel. If you held the Steering Wheel with both hands at the 6 O'clock position it would feel like your elbows are digging in your stomach.

Likewise, holding the wheel at the 12 O'clock position with both hands will cause your arms to ache after a very little time because they will tend to be at full stretch.
The Push Pull method is a way of feeding the steering wheel from one hand into the other whilst keeping complete control of the direction of the car.
When learning this method it can for some feel quite unnatural but given practice the method becomes very fluent very quickly.
Although we recommend the Push Pull Method as the safest form of steering, there are times when the hand over hand method may be more suitable to the circumstances at the time.
Places that involve low speed such as parking a car or turning the car around in the road would be an ideal situation where hand over hand steering may be considered easier, and the chance at low speed to set off an Airbag is reduced immensely. 

Hand over Hand Method

Is literally what your hands are doing as they turn the steering wheel.
This takes place at the top of the steering wheel as you realise there is not enough movement you can get from one hand on the steering wheel, so the other hand crosses over the top of the hand which is already steering and takes over to give more steering.

Obviously as mentioned earlier, Airbags have now become the biggest factor as to why we no longer recommend using the method, However, if a driver has complete control over the car the DVSA seem to have no issue with this method now.

One of the other complications of using this method is should your hands slip, or miss gripping the steering wheel as your hands cross over, With Power steering, it is common that when releasing the steering wheel while the car is moving, the steering wheel naturally wants to bring the wheels back to the central position. Therefore, if you slipped while carrying out hand over hand steering it is highly likely that the steering automatically will take you in a direction you DO NOT want the car to go.

However! Sometimes, in situations like a car park, carrying out a turn in the road, etc, the speed that the car will be doing is usually extremely slow, and hand over hand steering for some can be a quicker method to steer than push pull steering. The likelihood of someone having a crash that would set off the Airbag at such slow speed is possibly very slim, so to use hand over hand steering in those types of situation may be more suitable.


Palming

Probably the least advised method for steering, ESPECIALLY WHEN NORMAL DRIVING IS TAKING PLACE!

Is when one hand is placed flat onto the steering wheel and pressure applied so that the driver can whizz the wheel around very quickly.

Again, as with hand over hand steering, this can be suitable in situations where slow speed manoeuvres are being carried out, but in all other situations the safest method of steering would be the Push Pull Method.

The fact is, the DVSA permit various types of steering now,
AS LONG AS YOU ARE IN CONTROL AT ALL TIMES.

We suggest that you experiment with what works best for you. There is no hard and fast rule, other than the Driver MUST be in control of the car at all times.

Drivers who allow the steering wheel to slide through their hands to allow the steering to straighten itself would be deemed NOT in control of the vehicle.

Likewise, drivers who keep one hand on the gear lever or on their leg, is not safe driving practice. Think about the consequences of hitting a pot hole or clipping the kerb!
The steering wheel could be ripped out of your remaining hand and throw the car in a direction other than the direction you want the car to be travelling in. 

Helping your steering issues

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