If I were you I'd just teach him. I had my dad teach me how to drive and bypassed the student driver deal. Or have you hired a private instructor to teach him? If thats the case I'd find another he sounds like an idiot. I use 10 and two or quarter to three which is best for accessing my horn and controls and should be fine for the airbag. I pretty much always use both hands and try to stay focused (no cell phone etc.) and use the pull/push method.
The driving instructor is an idiot and should be called on it. I hear someone tell me kid that I'm goin' off..........That is damn foolish. I call BS on the airbag comment, its the instructor personal view and they are dead wrong. You lose the ability to make proper imputs to the wheel in that position and having stability with your forearms is dramatically reduced in that position as well which translates into car control.
Thanks, Josh. Current law in Calif. requires that he be 'instructed' by state licensed 'instructor' for like 8 hours, costs a couple of hundred $ and no way around it. I agree, current instructor sounds like a jackass, but my young driver is inclined to listen to others rather than me--typical teenager, I was NEVER like that (LOL)! Pleased to hear that so many are using 10/2 or 2:45 position. Thank you, Keith
Thank you , Tom. I couldn't agree more. I'll use the results of this thread to convince the 'young driver' that possibly his instructor should be more careful in what he says...
I'm not saying it's the best or safest way to drive but as an example I'm attaching a picture of my steering wheel. Notice the locations of the cruise/stereo controls. More like 4 & 7 o'clock isn't it? I would imagine that's where they designed them, like the instructor said, to keep your hands out of the way of the airbag. Image Unavailable, Please Login
9 and 3. Do your kid a favour and send him to a proper driving course, Bondurant, Skippy, just pick one. He needs to forget what this wanker is teaching him. Right now.
I personally prefer 10 and 2 - the reason being that the steering wheel is narrower than at the 9 and 3 position. It feels more comfortable to hold when doing long distances.
Leave it to california! I'm glad my dad taught/is teaching me to drive there have been studies that show first of all that kids who learned with their parents etc. at an older age were better off I've been driving a little over 6 months now. Do the kid a favor counter what his teacher tells him with the truth and take him out driving if you can on your own.
If fear of the airbag deploying insists on hand position than you can put your hands anywhere you like as long as they are at 10-2 or lower and you do not go hand over hand when turning corners. Instead, shuffle the wheel through your hands so that your arms never cross as you turn the wheel. If your goal is to control the car then grasp the wheel at 9-3 or 10-2 and keep your seat close enough to the wheel that your elbows are bent nearly 90 degrees. Most people sit too far away from the wheel with their arms straight out in front of them. This makes it harder for them to get big inputs into the wheel quickly and also hampers feedback to them from the wheel.
