Push-Pull aka Pull-Push Steering
It’s proactive:
- Hands are always in a position to make an immediate counter manoeuvre.
- Ensures, conditionally, that arms are not covering airbag. Important if you unlucky enough to be in a collision or in a situation that you have to move stuff out of the way!
- Keeps hands and thumbs outside the steering wheel. Airbags can cause significant damage if arms are inside or covering the airbag when it goes off.
- Avoids sudden inputs of steering and suffering the consequences of an over-steer or under-steer situation.
I use push-pull steering (or pull-push, as it’s now known for some reason) as a driving gauge. If I go rotational with my steering, i.e. cross my arms, then I know I’m too fast and haven’t identified the situation well in enough in advance.
Good steering technique should be practised all the time to ensure the conditioned response in an emergency. Any bad habits that rests in a driving style has the possibility of resurfacing at the wrong time.
Example of Push-Pull Steering
Example of Poor Steering Technique
This is what I commonly see.