Do you hold the steering wheel with 1 hand or 2 when driving?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Trucks66, Dec 17, 2023.

  1. W923

    W923 Road Train Member

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    Primarily my left hand because I normally shift with my right hand. Sometimes I switch it up or use both if the road is really rutted or rough or high winds.
     
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  3. W923

    W923 Road Train Member

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    Oh and my sister always says she can steer with her ta tas eat a sandwich with her left and shift with her right….now that’s real talent lol
     
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  4. TripleSix

    TripleSix God of Roads

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    You know how we wrote those ‘winter driving’ threads years ago? One of the problems that we haven’t covered was the driver default setting.

    In bad weather, we drive with our fingers. Everyone slips and slides, but driving with fingers offers so much more precision than driving with our arms. The problem is, if being baby smooth and precise isn’t a default, it adds so much stress to driving when we have to be precise, that we will fatigue quickly… and return to our default setting.
     
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  5. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

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    Yep. It's all tied to being in front of the truck, being proactive and not reactive. Driving by feel (fingers) lets a driver react in real time to the pressure changes in the steering, rather than chasing the visual clues of the truck moving around, which puts the driver behind the truck. It can be done two-handed, but as you point out, default is gripping the wheel for too many (cars and trucks) which leads to the ragged steering by wheel position instead of feel. Grippers tend to not look down the road, which exacerbates the problem.
     
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  6. ‘Olhand

    ‘Olhand Cantankerous Crusty

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    Wow it’s a good thing I pretty much just let muscle memory dictate
    If I thought thru all this like yall
    I’d need a nap :eek:
     
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  7. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

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    I suppose it's kind of like countersteering, if you got to think about it you're probably doing it wrong! LOL
     
  8. Animosus

    Animosus Heavy Load Member

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    Not that hard, didn't even lose a fender. Same day, 300 miles apart, 4 month old goodyears.
     

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  9. Sons Hero

    Sons Hero Road Train Member

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