What is the principle of determining the correct position of the driver's hands when you need to hold the steering wheel correctly? This is believed to be one of two options - 9:15 and 10:10. Japanese scientists conducted a study to prove or refute these claims. However, the researchers are sure that the grip position depends on the force that the handlebars have to apply. This is primarily due to the position of the hands, which affects the load at armpit level. This is exactly where the variant “9 and 15” is most applicable, also because of the airbag placed in the middle.
To test their claims, the researchers put 10 people behind the wheel of a simulator that looked more like a wheel on an airplane. They had to hold the steering wheel correctly using 4 different positions. This ranged from neutral (9:15 a.m.) to deviations of 30 and 60 degrees in either direction.
The scientists primarily observed the effort required by the participants when turning. The neutral, horizontal position of the hands turned out to be the most suitable. However, it is noted that some sensors in the car confuse the driver. During the experiment, participants were asked to turn the controller with only one hand. They usually grab it at 12 o'clock, that is, up, which is dangerous because in such cases the driver does not have full control of the steering and can also be injured if the airbag is deployed.
Clear results
All subjects were right-handed and turned the steering wheel while remembering the force required to move the original neutral steering position. This force was 2.0 Newton meters (Nm). The test subjects were asked whether their test bike felt harder or easier to turn. If they thought their experimental steering wheel needed more force than the reference, the researchers increased the force by 0.2 Nm.
If the subject thought their experimental wheel position required less force, the researchers turned it down by 0.2 Nm. The force range fell between 1.1 and 2.9 Nm. The scientists repeated the test up and down 25 times in each position. The aim of the study was to examine how our biases based on sensory data can influence operation.
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