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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To believe that 'feeding the wheel' is actually dangerous, a waste of time etc...

139 replies

Feminine · 13/09/2012 09:19

I hold a driving licence from abroad, so does my DH. We are allowed to drive on it for one year , then we must sit the entire UK test again...

I've been driving for 7 years and him since 1977!

As we know the UK is obsessed with this feeding the wheel crap, we have been practicing.

It actually makes things more dangerous, stopping the car from doing what it does naturally.

I am not suggesting that crossing your hands is great, we don't do that...but not letting the wheel run through ones hands is, (imo) plan daft.

Worrying really, as its a fail here isn't it?

OP posts:

StripyShoes · 13/09/2012 10:05

I was allowed to drive for a year, but had to exchange before the year was up. If I didn't exchange I would have had to resit the test. I am from Australia though.

BeauNeidel · 13/09/2012 10:05

I have never heard of 'feeding the wheel' before, I thought it had something to do with drugs

BTW have been driving for 12 years nearly.

LRDtheFeministDragon · 13/09/2012 10:07

Yeah, my mate is Californian and she was saying the other day how much scarier she finds driving in the US. She says she reckons people are much politer here than there, though she was comparing two cites rather than the countries as a whole.

I will ask her about the wheel thing, though, AFAIK she's never noticed what I do as being odd.

Original poster

Feminine · 13/09/2012 10:08

Again vallium it does depend on what state you take your test in.

I agree some states are very , very simple.

Americans don't make such a meal out of it. They believe driving is learnt when you are on your own, learning as you drive.

I think the problem here, is that its such an ordeal to pass/learn the tricks that people seem to give them all up as soon as they pass.

Well, from what I've experienced since I've been back anyway.

OP posts:

Original poster

Feminine · 13/09/2012 10:09

LRD its probably because you don't make such a performance about it, like they expect you to do in your driving test here.

OP posts:

wigglesrock · 13/09/2012 10:10

I leant to drive 3 years ago - my lifes biggest and most expensive achievement - it took me a lot of gos My instructor told me that crossed hands on a wheel if you have an accident or skid on ice etc make it much much harder to control the car hence teaching the "feeding of wheel"

Original poster

Feminine · 13/09/2012 10:12

I get that wriggle. I'm not talking about crossing hands though...

thats the thing :) well done for passing and sticking at it!

OP posts:

drjohnsonscat · 13/09/2012 10:13

I feed the wheel - after 25 years of driving.

I don't get the OP's problem to be honest. It is best practice so learn to do it for your test and then go back to your own way if you like.

Have also never had an accident so add that to your pile of anecdotes!

LRDtheFeministDragon · 13/09/2012 10:13

Maybe - after all I'd never heard of it before today! It wasn't something I remember being taught as a named thing, it was just how I naturally drove.

I do agree with you about the way the tests here don't relate perfectly to 'real' driving. I passed my test second time around but I took nearly two years, and so I did actually feel reasonably safe. A mate of mine did only a few weeks of lessons, but because she is very good at performing in tests, she passed first time. And then a week later she hit a patch of mud (she'd never driven on a muddy road before, or in the rain), skidded into a ditch, and left her front passenger blind in one eye and with gashes all down her face from the windscreen.

Awful. I feel really strongly about how there should be more emphasis on safety and practical things and less on silly stuff like exactly where you put your hands on the wheel.

drjohnsonscat · 13/09/2012 10:14

Feminine I wouldn't use how they do it in the US as a good argument. Their driving standards are atrocious.

gordyslovesheep · 13/09/2012 10:16

10 years f driving - I still have my hands at 10-2 and I feed the wheel - do I win a prize

valiumredhead · 13/09/2012 10:19

Americans don't make such a meal out of it. They believe driving is learnt when you are on your own, learning as you drive

Which means people end up starting with dreadful habits they can't get rid of!

marjolaine · 13/09/2012 10:23

I'm currently learning to drive (hate it ) and don't mind the feeding but think the pull-push technique is pretty stupid. That's where, for example, let's say you're turning left so you pull the steering wheel to the left, your left hand slides down to the bottom and the right hand slides down to meet it. I don't think leaving your right hand down at the bottom is very good for control-- if you suddenly needed to move to the right, you have to slide your hand back up quickly. I prefer to leave the right hand at 2 and loosen/tighten it as I pull with the left. Of course now someone will come on and defend the technique!

eurochick · 13/09/2012 10:26

I've never heard the phrase "feeding the wheel" before, but I think I know what you mean. I know very few people who drive that way after tthey have passed their test, but it probably is best practice. If your hands end up at the bottom of the wheel on a turn, you probably have less control. But it is not a natural way to drive imho.

There are plenty of flaws in the driving system here, e.g. no driving on motorways while you are having driving lessons, but we do seem to end up churning out pretty safe drivers compared to other countries.

valiumredhead · 13/09/2012 10:33

No motorways as you need your licence before it's legal but part of the test is to drive on a fast roads or dual carriage ways where possible now, isn't it?

IsItMeOr · 13/09/2012 10:36

Well, having driven a little in US and a lot in London and Dorset, I would say that you could generally get away with being a lot more relaxed as a driver, even in San Francisco.

I did a quick look at road deaths in UK and US - my memory is that US population is not quite 5 times the UK population. Yet according to these stats, there were 1901 road deaths in UK in 2010-11, compared with 7630 road deaths in US in just the first three months of 2012.

I know that people probably drive a lot further distances in US than UK, and that more of that will be on challenging road conditions, so I'm not claiming it's necessarily to do with safer drivers. But it makes you wonder....

IsItMeOr · 13/09/2012 10:37

PS, yes I still feed the wheel 20 years after passing my test.

CumberdickBendybatch · 13/09/2012 10:41

I remember having to do this during driving lessons and for my test, but I actually found it cumbersome and felt like I had less control of the car if I had to feed the steering wheel back. Seemed counter intuitive tbh. I have hold of the steering wheel, just loosely like Tee says, and let it spin back. Can grab the wheel tightly in an instant if I need to.

Tee2072 · 13/09/2012 10:51

IsItMeOr I was looking for those stats, so thanks.

But I'm not sure it proves anything unless you also add in the numbers of people who drive in each country.

I don't know a single person in the US who doesn't drive.

Original poster

Feminine · 13/09/2012 11:02

Exactly cumber that is exactly how I drive :) I don't think we can ever compare countries.

Like tee said, nearly all Americans drive so that will push up the figures.

Its still an option here.

Its such a non-event in the US , that even HALLMARK don't make cards offering congratulations

Its only fair to say that there are bad drivers all over the world, Americans no more so than anywhere else.

During my time there, I drove in driving dreadful driving conditions , dangerous and scary (weather related) I had the skills to deal with it...I didn't 'feed the wheel'

OP posts:

spoonsspoonsspoons · 13/09/2012 11:19

It's more about how rigorous test standards are. They're not making you retake a test in the uk because they assume you're a bad driver but because they believe the test you took isn't sufficiently rigorous. If you are a good driver the test is just a formality.

Original poster

Feminine · 13/09/2012 11:26

I can see that spoon. :)

I'm hoping the examiner will see that.

Anyway, the whole thing is silly really ...why let us drive in the first year (if we are so bad) surely we are likely to be more dangerous then?

Oh, and strangely enough , until you have passed your theory in US, you can't drive a car on the roads...I surprised they let you here.

OP posts:

TheSitChewAceChien · 13/09/2012 11:26

I passed 2 years ago, and haven't done "feed the wheel" since.

It just feels wrong.

Kayano · 13/09/2012 11:31

It's not dangerous, you're just rubbish at it

valiumredhead · 13/09/2012 11:34

Well you are with an examiner or experienced driver (over 2 years driving) when they let you drive in the UK without a licence - what are the rules in the US for teaching someone to drive?

Don't get me started on the comparison between US theory test and the UK - there IS no comparison according to my sister [grin[

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