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SteeringThose of you who have borne with me thus far will know I have been baring my breast and bewailing my sins in the signalling and braking departments. It is now time to recount the sins of steering, which are of great number, and I seem to have committed most of them. (Shades of the schoolboy definition of sins of omission as sins which one has forgotten to commit.) The first of the sins to confess is the Asymmetric Grip. The IAM manual Pass Your Advanced Driving Test advises on page 22 "You should hold the steering wheel with your hands at the 'quarter-to-three' or 'ten-to-two' position", whereby, as my observer pointed out, my grip was higher on the right than on the left. My excuse (one is always ready with excuses) was that the steering column was not central with the seat, but slightly to the left, and I was in fact leaning over slightly. The observer did not take this too kindly, so the examiner may not either. However, this is the situation in a good many cars, so you might just get away with it! There are several other excuses for the Asymmetric Grip, including a relative weakness in one limb, which one should get away with, and a steering wheel that had been wrongly mounted on the column, which certainly would not do. Now comes another sin which does not appear in the manuals at all, the sin of Handlebarring. I must admit that I was a bit taken aback when my observer commented unfavourably on this one. This is when one does not feed the steering wheel in a pull-push fashion through the hands, but simply maintains both hands in their original positions on the wheel when progressing through slight bends. I see nothing wrong in keeping both hands on the wheel in these circumstances. Indeed, one does it all the time on a motorbike (hence, presumably, the name). Furthermore, the police manual Roadcraft has a picture (1994 edition, page 73) in which the wheel has been turned at least 45 degrees with the hands still in their original positions, and the accompanying text suggests an even greater angle is allowable under certain circumstances (Rotational steering, page 75). This is definitely one for the Chief Observer - is this a sin or not? Another gripping problem is what to do with your thumbs. I used to cock my wrists slightly so that my fingers could grip more effectively the slight indentations on the back of the steering wheel. This meant, however, that my thumbs went through the centre, and my observer pointed out that in vehicles like a Land-Rover any kick-back through the steering could result in a painful contact between spoke and thumb. After that I started to lay the thumbs along the wheel rim and put more finger behind. In fact, Roadcraft illustrates this position quite well (pp. 73-76). However I find this uncomfortable after a while as the continuing tremble through the wheel (not from unbalanced wheels but transmitted from the engine even at rest) gives me numb thumbs. While we are at it, time now for my moan at the manuals, just to show I have read them. Who came up with the idea that pull-push has any inherent superiority over push-pull? Both manuals refer to this (IAM page 22; Roadcraft page 74) yet it is very difficult to come up with a logical advantage. I am sure some bright spark of a bodybuilder will argue that the triceps muscle is stronger than the biceps and that therefore pulling is easier than pushing. This is true, but it makes very little difference when performing a lightweight task such as turning a steering wheel when the car is on the move. In any case, if pushing is inferior to pulling in any respect to start with then it will be just as bad when you have finished the initial pull and wish to continue further - the actual movement is just the same. In fact, as I want to pass this test, I stick to pull-push in the hope of pleasing the examiner. If, however, you too are of an enquiring, not to say bolshie, spirit, I would suggest the following experiment: on the approach to a left-hand bend: start applying the system: Information, Position, Speed. Before moving into the correct Gear slide the right hand down to about 4 o'clock. When the left hand comes back from the gear lever it goes to 10 or 11 o'clock (one further up than your normal position). Three approaches to steering round the bend are now possible:
The results may surprise you. To my mind the argument over pull-push and push-pull is very similar to the argument that all natural left-handers should be forced to learn to write with the right hand, a process which educationalists have mercifully long since abandoned. Copyright PHP Harris 1999
Chief Observer's replyI had the idea of going through the foregoing with a fine-tooth comb covering every aspect in detail, but then decided that to do so would only amount to a defence of the system at the centre of our method of driving. When we come to the organisations that
provide advanced driving guidance we do so because we aim to improve the
standard of our driving. The system we use is one of many, and does not profess
to be the best, but simply lays down a way of doing things, that we can either
choose to use or ignore. It also enables the examiner; who will be Police
taught, to test against a recognised method, that will either be done correctly
or not. I will attempt to briefly give an opinion on the matters raised: 1. Rotational steering/handlebarring is generally unnecessary despite what Roadcraft says. The modern version was written partly with the public in mind, the former version that was aimed solely at the Police was not tolerant to anything other than Pull Push. For most matters of steering this is, 'on the road', the only necessary method, and the one we, at the Derby group wish to see. 2. The grip as regards the thumbs is designed to give maximum efficiency when steering. To prove this point take hold of a pencil as though you were holding a pint of beer (straight glass of course), now invite someone to pull it from your grasp, you should note that the pencil slides out fairly easily. Now try the same, holding it between the thumb and forefinger and invite the same action, it should now be more difficult to pull the pencil out. As regards your thumbs going numb remember the rules for steering are, 'gripping lightly, but ready to exert maximum effort when required'. White knuckles we do not want if this does not work I would take the car to a garage and seek assistance with the suspension and steering. 3. Pull push v push pull: it is my experience, that the former and correct method if done properly make for a smoother turn. 4. I tried the methods recommended in the last paragraph. With regard to the second one, this is more suited to the racetrack and I would have no hesitation in recommending its use for such. This is largely because the bends are a known entity, i.e. you get to know by repeated driving how tight the bend is. However, if used on the road, there will come a time when the bend tightens up so much that it would lead to a dangerous situation whereby there was no more steering left as the arms are by now resembling a corkscrew, HELLO TREE. The only action I would recommend on the approach to the bend as described, is to leave the right hand at two o'clock whilst the gearchange is effected, remembering that this should be done before steering. Then to place the left hand at twelve o clock and pull the wheel around; the right hand sliding down as the left hand goes past ten o clock, and then carrying on as normal. Anything else just isn't good Roadcraft.
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