I can't drive.

[fireshot91]

I find 1 hand to be easier than 2 hands at times...

As do I actually.

But I don't do the 1 hand out the window, one on the top. For some reason, it feels weird to drive only with my right hand.

Most of the time, I have my right hand at the 6:00 position barely hanging on, just in case I need it, and my left hand at 12:00 doing most of the work.

 

[robbieduncan]

No one has mentioned anything about actual steering technique yet. When I did an advanced driver training course (many years ago) one of the things we were taught was how to steer around tight bends. It's better demonstrated visually than in writing, but I'll try. Rather than reach one arm across the other, here's what you do… With both hands on each side of the wheel, turn until the one hand is approaching the bottom (i.e. approaching 90 degree turn of wheel). If you have to turn further, you bring your top hand down to meet it at the bottom of the wheel, then the other hand goes up. So let's say you have to do some crazy sharp turning, the motion is one of both hands moving up and down on their respective sides of the wheel — never crossing over. At least that's how we were taught.

(I still drive a car without power steering BTW, so this probably affects me more than most people.)

But yeah… apart from that, just lots and lots of practice!

Hmm, the track/race training I've had was to remove that technique: it's not fast or particularly accurate. But is what it taught to beginners for road driving. I've been taught to cross my hands over (in a controlled way) as it allows much faster, more precise steering input and makes it easier to catch and correct slides.

Oh and I drive a car without power steering too. And no traction control, no stability control, no ABS not even power-assisted brakes

 

[Plutonius]

Practice in a largish parking lot with cones.

or even without cones. A large empty parking lot works great for the initial learning.

 

[Tailpike1153]

My advice go to the video arcade and play driving games with steering wheel. If there is a go-kart track nearby and take a kart for a spin. Nerves get most people at first. Practice. Practice. Practice. It gets easier after a couple hundred hours. Good luck.

 

[iJohnHenry]

In the UK you'd fail your test for letting the wheel slide through your hands, as you'd be judged to not be in full control of the vehicle.
You need to feed the wheel back round.

Since they outlawed 'spinners', and with the advent of excellent power steering, I use the heal of my hand to straighten the wheels out.

 

[SteveAbootman]

OP - if you've never been behind the wheel of anything in your life i can see why this would be difficult. Perhaps going and playing a round of golf and renting a cart to drive would help you out.

I worked at a golf course for a few summers before getting my permit. As a result of driving around carts all day for a few days a week, driving a regular car came quite natural to me. I suggest you at least try it if you've never done it before.

 

[rdowns]

What are some tips for turning?

Relax and ignore the Internet back seat drivers.

 

[yg17]

My advice go to the video arcade and play driving games with steering wheel. If there is a go-kart track nearby and take a kart for a spin. Nerves get most people at first. Practice. Practice. Practice. It gets easier after a couple hundred hours. Good luck.

Seriously? Driving an arcade game, driving a go kart, and driving a real car are 3 entirely different things. Sure, driving those are fun, but they shouldn't be used to learn to drive. The only way to learn how to drive a real car is to drive a real car.

 

[mrsir2009]

Seriously? Driving an arcade game, driving a go kart, and driving a real car are 3 entirely different things. Sure, driving those are fun, but they shouldn't be used to learn to drive. The only way to learn how to drive a real car is to drive a real car.

Yeah, driving a golf caddy at a golf course is entirely different from driving a car on the road

 

[TheShinyMac]

Update.

Today I went into a massive parking lot of the Patriots football team.

Drove around for 25ish minutes practicing turns around light beams. Right/left turns and turns at higher velocity. We then got kicked out by the security force.

I feel much more confident in my skills now, still a little nervous to go onto major public roads still.

If you see this as a blog post. Well for lack of a better expression, get out of here. this is community discussion.