May 16 Weekly Open Thread: "I’m Mad As #*!! And I’m Not Going To Take It Any More!"

…at least not without saying something about it.

I thought this pet peeve belonged just to me, but apparently there are quite a bunch of folks that hate this. And it’s not often that one sees a disguised “colorful” metaphor in the title of a Car Lust post. But if there’s one method of bad driving that gets my blood boiling… it’s people that think they have no need to hold onto the steering wheel in their cars or trucks.

You see them every day. Drivers going along with traffic, doing most everything correctly, except for one thing… they aren’t holding the steering wheel. And this is not a momentary thing… this is how they always drive… a limp wrist laying on top of the wheel for many miles at a time, sometimes their fingers drumming on the dash.

The safety implications are obvious… hit a good bump, and your wheels dart. Somebody else in the car can grab the wheel and yank it out of your control. A slower turn reaction time. “Too bad you didn’t have a hold on that wheel bud, you could have kept your car in your lane.”

A recent Lincoln ad featured a famous actor driving limp-wristed. The ad was pulled, then re-edited without showing that questionable driving position.

Driver Training 101 tells you to place both hands on the wheel, near the 9:00 and 3:00 positions. Why people don’t do that is beyond me. Are their arms too long? Is it a lack of attention? Are they arrogant? Or do they just not care?

Of course, there are also other improper ways to hold the wheel.

I can’t stop anybody from driving like this, but l will refuse to ride with them.

So there, I’ve had my say. Now what do you think about drivers who “steer” with their wrist?

And of course, this is the place to discuss anything even slightly automotive-related. Especially new Tesla models.

—That Car Guy (Chuck)

Image Credits: Our first image came from WordPress.com. The proper method of holding a steering wheel picture came from MotoringAlliance.com. Our final photo was found at BostonBiker.org.