When driving, what positions are your hands on?

Female, and I’m more like 9 and 2. One of my hands is always higher than the other, pretty much.

Edit: After thinking some more, I realize that sometimes I’m 9 and 5:30 ish.

First off, 10-and-2 went away when airbags became common; the airbags will shove your arms who-knows-where and injure them severely. Either you are old, or your drivers ed material is.

Mine wander, though the most common positions are 9-and-3 or 2-and-smoking. Yes, I drive one-handed when traffic and weather conditions allow, and yes, I smoke left-handed.

10 and 2 if I’m on a windy road, but if I’m just cruising, 6 and 6. I like to let my hands kick back and relax down at the bottom of the wheel. If I need to make a sharp turn I move em, but otherwise, they chillin.

Usually 9 and 3. I hook my thumbs over the cross bars. If I’m driving one-handed, I think I have my hand a little higher, probably 2ish. My recollection of driver’s ed is that we were told more like 11 and 1 than 10 and 2… but I know that now because of airbags they should be lower. So all this time I’ve been doing it wrong, I was actually doing it right.

In good weather and traffic, either 2 and nothing or 4 and nothing. In poor weather or traffic, 9 and 2 or 4. When hauling a trailer, 9 and 2. When plowing, usually just my left hand at 12 or 6, right on the plow controls.

More often than not my left hand is on the gearstick & my right placed around 2 ish.

Usually with one hand, unless I am really focusing because of windy roads or getting around heavy traffic. Mostly 3:00 I think? Sometimes down at 5:00. Sometimes up at 12 or 1. When I drive with two hands up somewhere like 9 and 3.

Since I drive a lot of manual cars many times it is my left at 9 or 10, especially in heavy traffic or hilly and twisty roads where I am shifting a lot.

I think 10 and 2 was changed to 9 and 3 when air bags were added because it was difficult to put your hands there not sure, I feel like I need to go out to my car and check. It might also have been decided it is better handeling? I should ask my husband he races cars.

I don’t have a good excuse for this, but unless I’m in a tense situation, chances are that my right wrist is resting on my right leg and I’ll be holding the wheel down where it’s closest to that leg—so, 4:30ish? Maybe—maybe—my left hand will be mirroring that, but it’s just as likely to be propped up on the window ledge. When things get exciting, they’ll gravitate to 10 and 2.

I know: bad.

Oh and Nimis, there you are with that crazy observation thing again

My hands are at like 8 and 2.

Left hand at 9, if it’s on the wheel at all.

Right hand alternates between 2 and 5.

My hands move around the wheel. I often drive with my left hand at 1, and my right hand resting. I also drive with my right hand at 6, while my left arm is on the door.
Yes, it violates all the rules, but in 38 years of driving, I have had one accident that was my fault (I was adjusting the radio on a rental car), and none of the accidents I was not responsible for could have been avoided.

RACIST COMMENT AHEAD:

When I was 21, a close friend of mine complimented me on my driving skills.
When my Father derided them, I told him “Cheri say I am a very oriented driver!”
My Father replied “She meant oriental.”

Mine are all over, depending on whether I am turning, driving with one hand, cruising, or more active. On the highway, it’s probably around 6, if I’m one-handed, or 7 and 5. When things get tense, I’m more 10 and 2, especially if it’s night and raining and the windshield is foggy and vision is bad. I might even be hunched forward, trying to get a better view.

What hands? My car drives itself! lol
Um…probably something like 10 and 3 for me.

10 and 2 is what my dad taught me, and what I still do. In NY they’ve actually recently changed the driver instruction manual to recommend 9 and 3 (it said 10 and 2 before). I don’t know the reason for the change.

@Mariah You might have missed what I wrote above that I think it was decided 9 and 3 are better for handeling. I also think it had something to do with air bags being add and more difficult to grip at 10 and 2 on many wheels. I have heard these things, but not sure if those are the actual reasons.

About 8 and 2.

Female. In town 10 and 2, on the highway 0 (no hand) and 3.

It used to be 10 and 2 were the standard recommendations, but now it’s 9 and 3, in part because of air bags (as several of you have already noted). The reason is that in the 10 and 2 position, an air bag will push your hands back into your face, and could hit your eyes. At 9 and 3, your arms will go off onto the sides, away from your body.

Also, 9 and 3 gives you better control of the car. I’ve seen some studies that recommend 8 and 4, but I find 9 and 3 works for me.

@jerv Apparently I am old.

@thorninmud I am the queen of trivial observations. :P