Steering hand position — New Mexico Permit Test

One balanced hand position for steering control is 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock on the wheel.

Hands spread evenly on both sides of the wheel let you turn it smoothly and hold it steady.

One balanced position for steering control is at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions.

Some drivers prefer to place their hands at 9 and 3 o'clock on the steering wheel.

Both 10-and-2 and 9-and-3 keep one hand on each side, so either gives you even control.

Some drivers prefer placing their hands at 9 and 3 o'clock.

Always keep your knuckles outside the rim of the steering wheel.

Fingers hooked inside the wheel can get caught and hurt when the wheel spins.

Always keep your knuckles outside the rim of the wheel.

When turning sharp corners, turn the steering wheel using the hand-over-hand method.

Hand-over-hand keeps a firm grip on the wheel the whole way through a tight turn.

When turning sharp corners, turn the steering wheel using the “hand-over-hand” technique.

When you finish a turn, straighten the steering wheel by hand; letting it slip through your fingers could be dangerous.

A wheel that spins back on its own can over-correct and swing the car out of its lane.

When you complete a turn, straighten out the steering wheel by hand.

Picturing the steering wheel as a clock face, which hand position does the manual give for balanced control?

10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Hands spread evenly on both sides of the wheel let you turn it smoothly and hold it steady. New Mexico Driver Manual, p.14: “One balanced position for steering control is at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions.”