When I was grwoing up in the 1940’s and 1950’s we were taught to place our left hand at 11:00 and right hand at 5:00 on the steering wheel. With power steering the hand positions were changed to 10:00 and 2:00. Now with with airbags the recommended hand position is 7:00 and 5:00. Can anyone explain …

Hand Position on Steering Wheel

Whitey July 27, 2009, 2:48pm 5

I think the change has to do with a higher focus on safety. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, automotive safety wasn’t a big focus, and the odds of losing someone in an auto accident was higher than it is today.