You’ve never watched a cockpit camera of any racecar driver with their wrist draped over the 12:00 position of the steering wheel at 200 miles per hour — EVER!
Why do advanced driving schools and every race car driver insist on holding the steering wheel at 9 & 3? Feel, leverage and control. By being in the habit of driving like that gives them, and you, better feel of what the front tires are doing and how they’re reacting to bumps, moisture and paving lines in the road. Leverage: the 9-&-3 hand location gives the driver better leverage and a faster reaction time to front tire inputs. Case in point, someone swings into your lane on the highway. The faster you can react the better. Control: the smoother your inputs into the steering wheel are the better balance you vehicle will maintain. The tires are your only control link to the pavement and the smoother you drive and steer the vehicle, the better that “tire patch” can react to your inputs.
At highway speeds, you're using 80 feet of pavement a second! Think about it: that often leaves nearly no time to react and the smoother and faster you can do so the better. We see public road users often overreact with their inputs. Using 9 & 3 will make a smoother, safer driver that keeps the vehicle in YOUR CONTROL. Your passengers will thank you too. A safe driving tip from Ford Country — Everything we do is driven by you.
Comments