Steering

Push Pull Steering

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!

The Push Pull 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 six 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 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. 

Some common issues with steering
for newer drivers

Steering and ensuring you keep 
a safe distance from obstructions

A good example to understand 
steering and routine on approach to a junction.

Demonstration of how to and how not to steer.