Why "9 & 3"?

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How do YOU hold the steering wheel when you drive?  Are both hands gripping the top half of the wheel?  Perhaps one gravitates up high and the other to the side?  Wait a sec- is one hand situated up top, while the other is resting on the armrest, fumbling with the radio, or, more likely, cycling through your smart phone?
"So what if we're moving 95 feet per second, I need to refresh my Twitter feed!"
Most of us have been guilty of this, but if you happen to take driving slightly more seriously than you do 'swiping right', you'll have placed your hands at the nine and three "clock" positions.
 
"Say what? Don't you mean 10 and 2, like I vaguely remember being told back in that driver's ed. class?"

Nope.  I mean 9 and 3.  For most driving enthusiasts, the phrase is actually instantly recognizable. "Nine and three" is the ideal hand position one uses on the steering wheel and for a variety of different reasons. In a nutshell, placing the hands at the opposing horizontal parts of the wheel allows for the driver to have better balance, control and accuracy in a cornering situation, as opposed to the traditional 10 and 2.

Making a turn with your hands at direct opposite ends of the wheel will thus require less hand-over-hand effort while turning, and keep them where they belong: on the wheel. This is why it's the preferred position of drivers barreling down a race track, or hustling along a back road.
Even the 'Hoff knew of but one way to grip a wheel. Turbo boost and ski-mode require the utmost control.
Not to mention the farther aside your arms are from the explosion of an airbag, the less likely they will blast back into your face in an accident.  In fact, the NHTSA and the DMV have since caught on to the better suited hand position in recent years, and recommend that drivers now do the same.

Besides hand position, there's a whole slew of tips to apply to setup an ideal driving position. With just a few small adjustments between the steering wheel and your seat, you can make a world of difference in both comfort and effectiveness behind the wheel.  And getting the most of out of the driving experience, no matter what you drive, is the name of the game.  But we'll get to that later.

Now that we've been level-set on what we're talking about here, let's hit the road.

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