What is the correct position of the hands on a steering wheel while driving a truck on a motorway?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
B. Left hand on "9 o'clock", right hand on "3 o'clock".
Explanation
In the photo, you can see the steering wheel and the dashboard in a lorry cab. When driving on a motorway, the correct position of the hands is the left hand "at 9 o'clock" and the right hand "at 3 o'clock" - answer B.
The Road Traffic Act requires you to drive at a speed that ensures control of the vehicle, and in a lorry control starts with how you hold the steering wheel. Hands placed opposite each other, on the sides of the wheel, give the widest range of movement in both directions without moving your hands along the wheel, and let you react to a gust of wind or a rut with one smooth movement. Both hands at the top (answer A) or at the bottom (answer C) reduce this range, and in a sharp turn you can easily lose hold of the wheel; with an airbag, hands held at the top are also thrown into your face. On a motorway, where you drive for hours, this grip tires your wrists the least. You keep your thumbs on the rim, not inside the spokes, because a jerk of the steering wheel on a bump can break your thumbs.
Legal basis: Art. 19 para. 1 and Art. 66 para. 1 point 5 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)