Holding your steering wheel properly is one of the most critical steps you can take to ensure a safe drive. The wheel controls your entire vehicle after all.

Statistics indicate that bad steering wheel techniques are the leading cause of car crashes when drivers go off of the road, according to NHTSA. You can help keep yourself and others safe by following these steering wheel positioning tips when you’re in the driver’s seat.

These numbers are in reference to a clock. Your hands should be where the “two” and “10” numbers would be.

The organization now suggest drivers lower their hands a bit to the “9 and 3” position. The change has been recommended in part because the “10 and 2” hand position could be dangerous in cars with smaller steering wheels that have air bags.

Generally, the “9 and 3” steering position will keep your hands in the right place for the “push and pull” turning method. Check out the “Hand-to-Hand Steering” section below where the “push and pull” turning method” is explained in more detail.

Your steering wheel technique is perhaps most important when turning your vehicle. There are three standard steering methods that should be used when you’re turning your car, according to NHTSA.

While the pulling hand moves down, the hand that first pushed up moves back to its original position to make any necessary adjustments. NHTSA recommends the driver use the area of the steering wheel area between “11 and 8 o’clock” with their left and the “1 and 8 o’clock” area with their right, regardless of which way they’re turning.

You hands do not cross over the steering wheel with this method, which decreases the chance of your hands or arms hitting and injuring you in the event of an airbag deployment. The hand-over-hand steering method is best when you are turning at low speeds, have limited visibility at an intersection or parking, according to NHTSA.

Put your left hand between the “8 and 9 o’clock” part of the wheel and your right between the “3 and 4 o’clock” position to steer hand-over-hand. You can use the right top third of your steering wheel to move it in that direction.

As far as wheel movement, your right or left hand takes the wheel and pushes up, while the other hand releases, moves across the opposite arm and pulls wheel up—hence the term, “hand-over-hand.” When the steering wheel is pulled up, the hand that started the push releases and goes back to its original position.

There will be times when you need to steer with one hand, however. This could occur when you need to turn on your headlights, windshield wipers or turn signal.

In these instances, keep the other hand at the “8-9 o’clock” or “3-4 o’clock” position. Doing so will keep your car steady and keep you in a position to make more steering moves if necessary.

Get into the habit of looking back even if you have camera-assisted backup. Holding your steering wheel properly increases the likelihood of a safe drive.

Make sure your headrest, seat and mirrors are adjusted property to match your height. You should also be able to adjust your steering wheel position, depending on the vehicle model, according to Driving Tests.

Good posture can also make for a safer and more comfortable drive. Move your tailbone to as close to your seatback as possible for better back support.

You want to be close enough to reach the pedals and be able to push them with your whole foot, but not so close that you risk injuring your head, neck or chest in a collision. You should also adjust your rear-view and side mirrors you can see the traffic behind you without having to crane your neck.

As your steering wheel goes, so does your car. Keep your two hands on the wheel, preferably at the “9 and 3” position, use the property turning techniques and make sure your other car settings are correct to ensure you, your passengers and other drivers are all safe on the road.

GEICO offers discounts in some states for policyholders who’ve taken a defensive driving course and have a young driver in the family who completed a driver’s education course. Full-time students with a good academic record could also get up to a 15% discount on certain coverages.

A concept all beginner drivers must conquer is where to put their hands on the steering wheel. The age-old “10 and 2” hand positioning may meet DMV requirements, but is it the safest way to position your hands.

Join seasoned driving instructor Liz as she sets the record straight on where your hands need to be positioned on the steering wheel. Although a fairly basic concept, it is one that many drivers are unsure of.

Video Transcript. Hello, driving instructor Liz here.

First things first, you need to remember to keep both hands on the wheel at all times. This is not only important for your safety.

The only exceptions to this rule are temporary ones, like when:. Other than that, two hands on the wheel at all times.

If you think of the steering wheel as a clock, the main thing to remember is to keep your hands on opposite sides on the clock. For example, this would be the 10 and 2 hand position.

While 10 and 2 is still an acceptable hand position to use, there are other hand positions that are even more acceptable and also recommended for additional safety.

In that case, moving your hands down on the wheel to the 9 and 3 position is recommended. Not only is the 9 and 3 position completely acceptable, it is actually a bit safer because it keeps your hands clearer of the airbag should it deploy.

With that said, the most important consideration is finding the hand position that allows you to keep both hands on the wheel while maintaining maximum control of the vehicle. Feel free to position them wherever is most comfortable for you and your situation.

You may have also heard about 8 and 4 hand positioning, and there’s good reason for that. If possible and if you feel in control, sliding your hands down to 8 and 4 is a pro defensive driving move:.

Here’s a few more tips to keep you safe:. That’s a lot of talk about holding the steering wheel, but it’s great information for all drivers, young and old.

When setting up a large campus, facility, or parking lot, traffic safety falls to the site planner. Excellent traffic control is important from circulation to signage.

On the other hand, people and cars may be more likely to share the road with pedestrians who may cross erratically through parking lots. In a parking lot, children are more likely to be on the road surface.

Facilities can take a page from public roadways and install traffic control devices to keep users safe. Traffic control devices direct, guide, and inform drivers by offering visual or tactile indicators.

signals. road design and marking.

Public roads use a wide selection of traffic control tools which can be adapted to smaller facilities. However, on public roads, driver focus tends to be on signs and signals.

Road signs provide local information to drivers. Made from reflective material in high-contrast colors, they are highly visible in headlights at night.

Regulatory signs are the most important signs on the road. They declare the accepted legal use of the immediate public roadway.Intersection control specifies proper behavior when roads meet—signs like stop or yield are essential for preventing conflict and crashes.

Traffic direction can be specified, as in one way or no enter signs. Allowable stops or parking spaces are usually marked.

Warning signs allow drivers to be aware of driving hazards like animal crossings or twisting paths. They’re installed for maximal safety.

Route and exit information as well as those marking rest stops, gas and food, and tourist attractions all fit into this category. Traffic signals in red, yellow, and green are ubiquitous items in the traffic control landscape.

Flashing lights, either in a traditional signal or hanging alone, are common. However, they can have variable meanings depending on the region and the color.

Road design offers another vocabulary for communicating with drivers. Road markings, like lines and arrows, are used to mark correct legal usage of road surfaces.

Road markings like “sharrows,” showing that bikes and motorized vehicles share the road, notify drivers about unexpected traffic patterns. Road construction is also involved in traffic control.

When a car drifts over them, they alert through sound and texture that the vehicle is no longer in its lane. Rumble strips are often used in places where drivers might miss a sharp bend in the road, or on long stretches where a driver might fall asleep.

Speed humps and bumps, chicanes, neckdowns, curb extensions, roundabouts and more can encourage proper driver behavior. Barriers and channelizers also control traffic, warn against hazards, and mitigate accidents.

Traffic delimiters and cones are often placed temporarily to provide warning around hazards or work zones. Highway barriers, like standard Jersey barriers, help prevent head-on collisions and mark lanes.

Highway barriers may be gated or non-gated, either by cushioning an impact of a car but letting it through or by stopping it all together. Channelizers and road barriers, whether barrels, curbs, or bollards, are more permanent than traffic delimiters or cones—though some may be removable for multi-access spaces.

The crash-rated and security types provide impact protection that is very effective at stopping head on or deep angle crashes. In some states and most of Canada, public traffic control markings in private spaces like parking lots must be obeyed.

In other jurisdictions, signs on private property do not carry the same possibility for moving violation enforcement. For example, in Ontario, Canada or Washington State, a driver cannot get a ticket for disobeying a marked sign in a private parking lot.

Drivers may still be charged with things like negligence, reckless endangerment, or vehicular assault or homicide. The private property owner can also ban a driver from returning to their property.

Even in jurisdictions where a traffic officer cannot ticket those who disobey, they communicate what is expected enough that refusal may constitute reckless endangerment or negligence. Private traffic control often relies heavily on barriers, channelizers, and design.

Speed humps and bumps are a very common form of traffic control in parking lots. They’re also very useful in throughways in residential or commercial complexes, or on large business or educational campuses.

Parking stops help prevent cars from pulling through empty spots and creating new, possibly unsafe, traffic patterns. The most common signs in parking lots are striped warning signs, emblazoned on support pillars and lane dividers.

Stop signs are important in large lots and garages where there are intersections that may lead to driver conflict. One-way signs may also be useful in some situations, particularly garages and complexes, although direction of traffic may be marked instead with road markings.

Any regular street marking can be used to communicate expected behavior, from sharrows to stop lines. Parking lots also can make use of road markings.

Stop lines and turn lanes can also be important with traffic control near the tight corners that can arise in small spaces. Crosswalk and zebra striping create marked pedestrian zones to guide both pedestrians and drivers safely to their cars.

Stall markers also may help specify direction of travel, when painted on an angle, as parking lots are often designed with parking orientation that maximizes both space and traffic flow. Markings for accessible spaces also help limit challenges to users in a lot.

Flexible bollards are useful as parking stops in back-in stalls, as both stop and positioning guide. They are also very handy lane markers on circular ramps that require some flexibility for large trucks to take more than one lane.

Of course, temporary channelizers like cones and delimiters are useful for temporary hazards or construction. Creating a private facility with vehicle access means considering the safety of people, assets, utilities, and buildings.

Low posted speeds and careful planning through road marking, parking orientation, and environmental may not stop all of these but can mitigate the damage. Protective barriers and bollards can add extra security.

Even in states and provinces where moving violations and tickets cannot be handed out on private roads and lots, clear communication means that driver negligence is enforceable. Using traffic control measures can help your users and your property stay safe.

One of your biggest challenges as a new driver will be learning to identify where your vehicle sits in relation to the roadway. Developing this sense is essential, as it will make sure you can correctly position yourself within a lane and avoid colliding with the curb, other vehicles and obstacles.

Reference points are the key to positioning and maneuvering your car accurately. Master these visual guides and challenging maneuvers like parallel parking will soon be a walk in the park.

Vehicles come in all shapes and sizes and as such, will have slightly different optimal reference points. Your car may be longer, shorter or wider than the vehicle used in these examples.

If the reference points are different, it is likely they will only be slightly off the mark. Side position reference points are used to locate a vehicle in relation to side-adjacent road markings and obstacles, like the curb or another parked car.

Your vehicle’s left headlight makes for an excellent reference point when attempting to park on the left side of the road. Take advantage of this reference point by imagining a line through the point where the left fender meets the hood.

To summarize, your left headlight should be used for reference when you need to do any of the following: When positioning yourself in relation to the right curb, use the center of your hood as a point of reference.

Generally, when the curb appears to intersect the middle of the hood from your viewpoint in the driver’s seat, your vehicle is in the ideal position, three to six inches away from it.

You must be able to determine how close the front of your vehicle is to a stop line, once the line itself has been obscured by the hood. Drivers must stop as near to the line as possible, without the front bumper or any other part of the vehicle actually going over the line.

The image shows how a stop line would look in relation to your left side-view mirror, when your vehicle stops just before the line.

If you are standing in the right lane, the stop line will not be visible from the right side window.

Looking through your rear-view and side-view mirrors alone will not be enough to position your car correctly. Drivers must look over their left and right shoulders through the side windows to position their vehicle in relation to the curb line when parallel parking.

In this situation, the door handle makes an appropriate reference point.

If – after reading this article – you are still wondering why so much emphasis is placed on car reference points in the driver’s ed program, consider these final points: Understanding car reference points will help you get in and out of very tight parking spots.

Knowledge of basic reference points will help you identify workable reference points in any vehicle you drive in the future. So, you will always feel comfortable and confident behind the wheel.

With car reference points to guide you, parallel parking will never be a problem. You will be able to share the road with cyclists safely and confidently, as car reference points will show you exactly which lane position you are occupying and how far away you are from nearby bicycles.

Find out with our free quiz.

It’s understandable to be anxious if a law enforcement official pulls you over as you’re driving. The most common reason for this to happen is a traffic-related stop.

Do you have an obligation to tell the officer you’re carrying a firearm. One of the best ways to be informed about carrying firearms in Texas is to take a Texas LTC class, where you’ll learn your legal responsibilities as a gun owner, including whether you’re required to tell a police officer you have a gun in your car.

If you’re a Texas License to Carry holder, you’re required to inform the officer is you have a firearm on you. You can do this by presenting your license to carry as you hand the officer your driver’s license.

Whether you have a firearm in the vehicle or not, it’s recommended to tell the officer about having an LTC. There’s no requirement to have a license or permit if you’re a legal handgun owner in Texas, according to the Texas Motorist Protection Act.

In this instance, it’s still advised you disclose the fact that you have a gun in the vehicle, but it’s not required. If there’s reason for concern, a routine check can always be done to verify you’re a Texas resident and a legal gun owner.

Instead, you might say you have a license to carry if you have one. Another option is to inform the officer you’re a legal firearms owner and user and you have a gun in your car.

It’s also advised you handle an interaction with an officer when there’s a gun in your car by: • Avoiding humor or anger • Placing your hands on the steering wheel as you talk with the officer until given further directions • Remaining calm as you inform the officer about your gun What happens next depends on the nature of the interaction.

The gun may also be temporarily taken and secured for safety purposes.

Fortunately, high-quality firearms training is readily available. If you want to take a license to carry Texas class or you’d like to update your knowledge with a CHL refresher course, look no further than Online Texas LTC.

To learn more about our high-quality online courses, reach out to us today at 512-675-2206.