<VV> Hand position on steering wheel

[JRVIDRINE at aol.com]

Folks,
 
My two cents on the thread on hand position on a steering wheel.   One of the 
things that I do is teach defensive Driving (Smith Driving System) so  I 
would like to state what I know and what we teach.  First hand position  on a 
Corvair isn't an issue.  They don't have airbags.  What was  normally taught in 
the past was to place hands at 10 o'clock and 2  o'clock.  That was before air 
bags.  Now we teach that the safest  position is at 3 O'clock and 9 O'clock.  
This is because with hands at 10  and 2 there is a high likelihood that your 
hands and arms will be driven back  into your face and head by deployment of the 
air bag, possibly causing serious  injuries.  This is much less likely at 3 
and 9.  As far as hand over  hand maneuver while turning, we don't have a 
position on this.  The time  spent in this maneuver is very low in overall driving 
time with a low  probability of injury.  
 
Many people condemn air bags and make a lot of the injuries that people  
suffer from the air bag deploying.  In fact, the injuries suffered are  much less 
than what would be sustained if the head and upper torso rotated into  the 
steering wheel or the dashboard.  I base that observation on what my  brother 
told me.  He was a Louisiana State Trooper (Highway Patrol)  officer for over 30 
years.  He told me that in similar accidents, people  with air bags suffered 
much less severe injuries than those not equipped.   He said that in cars 
without the air bags he saw severe head injuries especially  if they hit the 
steering wheel.  Air bags are supplemental restraint  systems and are designed to 
work with seat belts and shoulder harnesses.   They work best in this scheme.  
The are not designed to protect a person  who is unbelted and usually don't.  
 
Randy Vidrine 
Branch, LA 
62 Monza Coupe