There are those who are keen on various exercises that aim to teach how to turn your steering wheel, depending on the operation you wish to perform. For my part, I have definitely stopped doing any lessons on the steering wheel. Here is the reason why.
By Sybille Jacob - Adult trainer and driving instructor at CER
I teach in a particularly complex city, whether it be difficult bends, narrow streets with steep gradients or roads outside built-up areas. I was first able to appreciate how difficult it was for the learners to keep their trajectory and to appreciate their size. I saw them on this occasion and on many occasions get tangled up with their steering wheel. I therefore set up a series of exercises that I will often work on outside built-up areas, on a road with difficult bends with road widths of between 4.5 and 5.5 metres, often bordered by structures such as low stone walls or narrow bridges. On this occasion, we work on raising the hands on the steering wheel, so as to move them as little as possible, and projecting a look that transmits useful information to the trajectory.
An insufficient approach
People's trajectory improved quite significantly each time. Their gaze changed, looking for the information needed to stay in their lane, and their location on the road became more natural, no longer staring at the right-hand edge of the road. However, this did not improve the ability of the majority of drivers to manage their speed better. Their steering wheel was still in the way.
To work on their disconnection between managing their pace and using the steering wheel, I had set up an exercise a long time ago. I asked the pupils to do a slalom between the poles spaced at a maximum of 6 metres or 5.5 metres apart. The aim of this exercise was for them to project their gaze in advance and for their eyes to be able to calculate the trajectory to take in order to place the front and rear wheels of the vehicle as close as possible (less than 20 centimetres from each block). At the same time, to manage their pace in first gear with good clutch control (slippage) and to improve their left and right hand dimensions very significantly, while becoming aware of their natural apprehensions (I am more afraid of the left-hand peg because I can see it, or I am more afraid of the right-hand peg because I cannot see it).
However, this exercise was not sufficient to solve the problems of trajectory, use and handling of the steering wheel. In particular when changing direction to the left or right. I observed that most of them had regular little jerks in the steering wheel on the road, and that they had to rectify their trajectory at certain moments in their journeys, and this in a recurrent manner.
A new exercise
It helped me to find the answer to a question I have always asked myself. Why is it that, at the initial assessment, the people who have a problem understanding their steering wheel and holding their lane are the ones who will have the most problems in their learning journey and who will get the most hours of driving lessons?
Because part of their attention is essentially devoted to their trajectory, which prevents them from concentrating on doing something else. Because this trajectory is not clear, and they have to keep rectifying it, there is a lack of fluidity in their decision, because they are preoccupied with this major difficulty.
I therefore carried out a new exercise to test this hypothesis. I had a person stand along a road in a car park, the car parallel to the edge of this axis, the wheels straight. Then I placed about 15 metres in front of him on his left a single stone on an imaginary trajectory as if this person had to turn left. Then I set two objectives for her:
- Turn your wheels when you are stationary before setting off and do not change this trajectory while driving, imagining the trajectory it would take
- The right-hand edge of her car must have been 40 centimetres from the stud as she drove past
The result was not long in coming. After a few unsuccessful attempts, which can vary from 3 to 8 attempts depending on the person, the trajectory becomes fluid. And when we return to this pad on a route that has us constantly turning to the left, I could quickly observe that there was a rectification of the trajectory for these other changes of direction. In particular, people take more account of the right side of their vehicle. They are often stunned to discover the extent to which they did not know how to project themselves. They realise without feeling guilty how essential this learning is for them and integrate it with a lot of humour and relaxation.
Erasing preconceived ideas
A question quickly arose when doing this exercise. I asked them each time if they thought it was more important to turn the steering wheel when making a left turn or a right turn. Almost every time, they answer positively about the left-hand turn. And even if they don't know how to answer this question, it's enough that I make them turn right at the exit of the car park for them to realise that they don't turn their steering wheel enough in this operation. They then realise by themselves that they are indeed in this false belief that they have to turn their wheels more to change direction to the left. Once they are aware of this belief, they quickly rectify it by turning their steering wheel more precisely to the right.
For some of these students, who already had a significant number of hours, we continued the progression of the lesson by driving in roundabouts, storage lanes and acceleration lanes. After some practice and discussion about the fluidity of the trajectory and the freedom it gives, I could see the looks becoming more precise, more open to others (priority rules) and the pace becoming natural and more rhythmic. The alternation between glances aimed at imagining the trajectory and glances at others or at the mirrors becomes more natural, starting with glances at the trajectory.
In two hours of lessons, driving is radically transformed. The fact that the trajectory is poorly managed absorbs the drivers' attention and directly prevents them from quickly entering situations where it will intervene. Poorly controlled trajectories prevent them from launching themselves quickly and confidently. Often, moreover, learners will express their need for concentration directly linked to this constant monitoring of their driving without knowing that it is directly linked to the concern for trajectory control. For my part, I have decided to squeeze out any lesson on the steering wheel and to carry out this exercise from the very first hours. Because teaching the steering wheel and how to control it reinforces, in my opinion, this problem of too much attention on it and limits people in their progress. This is perhaps why people who are found to have a trajectory problem during the evaluation have more difficulty progressing!
Our job is to educate people's eyes. It is not enough for us to tell people that they must look and observe. We have to learn to educate eyes that have content, meaning, that know how to look for relevant information, that know how to calculate, measure, estimate. This is how we can improve steering and controlled trajectories.
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