Steering — South Carolina Permit Test

Turn the steering wheel in the direction you want the vehicle to move, whether going forward or in reverse.

Backing confuses many drivers, but the rule is the same either way, which keeps you from turning the wrong way.

A steering wheel is turned in the direction you want the vehicle to move, whether moving forward or in reverse.

Grip the wheel with your fingers rather than your palms, with your thumbs up along the face of the wheel.

A finger grip gives finer control, and thumbs kept on the face are not caught by a spinning wheel.

Use your fingers to grip the steering wheel instead of the palms of your hands and keep your thumbs up along the face of the steering wheel.

Never turn the wheel while gripping it from the inside of the rim.

A hand inside the rim can be trapped or the wrist injured as the wheel turns or an air bag deploys.

Never turn the wheel while gripping it from the inside of the rim.

Hold the wheel with your left hand at 7 to 9 o'clock and your right hand at 3 to 5 o'clock.

Lower hand positions cause less muscle stress and keep your arms out of the air bag's path.

Place your left hand at the 7 to 9 o'clock position and your right hand at the 3 to 5 o'clock position.

Keep both hands on the wheel except when one hand is shifting gears, working the wipers or giving hand signals.

With one hand off, you have less control if the car swerves or you must steer suddenly.

Both of your hands should remain on the steering wheel at all times except when one hand is performing some other necessary function of driving such as shifting gears, turning on the windshield wipers, or giving hand signals for turning, slowing or stopping.

When first learning to handle a car, choose lightly traveled rural roads when possible.

Little traffic gives you room to make mistakes while you learn the constant small corrections steering needs.

When you are first learning to handle your car or truck choose lightly traveled rural roads, when possible.

When backing up, which way do you turn the steering wheel?

The way you want the vehicle to go. Backing confuses many drivers, but the rule is the same either way, which keeps you from turning the wrong way. South Carolina Driver's Manual, p.55: “A steering wheel is turned in the direction you want the vehicle to move, whether moving forward or in reverse.”