The most commonly cited “not recommended” steering technique is the traditional 10 and 2 hand position, which was once standard instruction but is now explicitly discouraged by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Several other techniques, including one-handed steering, palming the wheel, and hooking the wheel from underneath, also fall outside recommended practice. If you’re preparing for a driving exam, understanding which methods are safe and which aren’t is essential.
Why 10 and 2 Is No Longer Recommended
For decades, driver education taught students to place their hands at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions on the steering wheel. That guidance changed as airbags became standard equipment. NHTSA now states that the 10 and 2 position “can be dangerous in vehicles with smaller steering wheels and equipped with air bags.”
The reason is straightforward: when your hands sit high on the wheel, they’re directly over the airbag module in the center hub. If the airbag deploys in a collision, it inflates at speeds exceeding 150 mph. Hands and arms positioned over that module get launched violently, causing fractures to the forearm, wrist, and hand, along with facial injuries when the airbag drives your own arms into your face. A National Automotive Sampling System survey covering 1995 to 1999 documented a rise in forearm fractures specifically from driver-airbag interaction during this era.
The Two Recommended Techniques
NHTSA recognizes two steering methods as safe and effective. Both keep your hands lower on the wheel, away from the airbag module.
Hand-over-hand steering places your left hand between 8 and 9 o’clock and your right hand between 3 and 4 o’clock. You feed the wheel through your hands by reaching over with one hand while the other releases and regrips. This method works well for sharp turns, parking, and low-speed maneuvering where you need a large range of steering input quickly.
Hand-to-hand steering (also called push-pull) places your hands even lower, with your left hand between 7 and 8 o’clock and your right hand between 4 and 5 o’clock. One hand pushes the wheel up while the other pulls it down, and your hands never cross over the airbag. NHTSA calls this “the preferred method of steering.” It provides smooth, controlled input that’s ideal for highway driving and gradual lane changes.
Palming the Wheel
Palming means pressing your open palm flat against the face of the steering wheel and rotating it, rather than gripping the wheel with your fingers. You’ll see drivers do this while parallel parking or making tight turns in parking lots. The appeal is that it lets you spin the wheel quickly without regripping.
The problem is accuracy and control. With your palm flat, you can’t make fine adjustments, and if the wheel hits a rut or your tires catch unexpectedly, your hand can slip off entirely. At any speed above a crawl, losing your grip on the wheel even briefly can mean losing control of the car. Palming also leaves you with no ability to hold the wheel steady against resistance, which matters on uneven roads or during emergency steering.
Hooking the Wheel From Underneath
Some drivers steer by sliding one hand under the wheel and hooking it from below with their fingers or wrist. This underhand grip feels casual and comfortable, but it creates a serious injury risk if the airbag deploys.
Research published in the National Institutes of Health database tested what happens to a forearm positioned under the steering wheel during airbag inflation. An underhand grasp with the wheel turned 90 degrees produced the highest-magnitude impact of any position tested. The deploying airbag drives the forearm upward with extreme force, and the study found that dual-stage airbag deployments caused forearm fractures in test scenarios. The faster the forearm accelerates during deployment, the greater the injury risk. Beyond airbag concerns, hooking the wheel limits your range of motion and makes it nearly impossible to steer quickly in an emergency.
One-Handed Steering
Driving with only one hand on the wheel, whether resting the other on the gear shift, armrest, or your lap, reduces your control by roughly half. You can’t react as quickly to sudden hazards, you have less leverage to correct a skid or avoid an obstacle, and a single hand fatigues faster on long drives. One-handed steering also tends to pull the car slightly toward whichever side your hand is on, requiring constant small corrections that add up to less stable lane tracking.
What Driving Examiners Look For
During a road test, examiners score your steering on smoothness and proportionality. California’s DMV scoring criteria, which are representative of most states, evaluate whether you turn the wheel “smoothly and with full control of the vehicle” and steer “only the necessary amount.” Over-steering (turning too much) and under-steering (not turning enough) both count against you.
You won’t necessarily fail for using a specific hand position, but jerky inputs, one-handed driving, or losing control of the vehicle due to poor technique can result in point deductions. Critical errors that lead to automatic failure include striking objects, jumping curbs, or ending up in the wrong lane, all of which often trace back to poor steering habits. Practicing hand-to-hand or hand-over-hand steering before your test gives you the smoothest, most controlled inputs examiners want to see.
Quick Comparison of Techniques
- Hand-to-hand (push-pull) at 8 and 4: Recommended. NHTSA’s preferred method. Best for highway and everyday driving.
- Hand-over-hand at 9 and 3: Recommended. Best for sharp turns and low-speed maneuvering.
- 10 and 2 position: Not recommended. Puts hands over the airbag module.
- Palming: Not recommended. Sacrifices grip and precision.
- Underhand hooking: Not recommended. Highest injury risk during airbag deployment.
- One-handed steering: Not recommended. Reduces control and reaction ability.