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The Steering Wheel
This connects to the front wheels and
controls your direction by changing the angle of the front
wheels when you turn it. This angle is known as the “lock”, but
don’t get that confused with the locking mechanism on the wheel
when the ignition key is taken out as part of the car’s
security.
The more you turn the wheel, the more
sharply the car turns when it’s in motion. When turning the
wheel, use the “push-pull” technique whenever you can,
especially with sharp corners. The trick to being able to do
this is keep both of your thumbs on the top edge of the wheel so
that your thumbnails are facing you. That way, you don’t get
them caught in the spokes of the wheel and you don’t have to
lift either hand as you turn because this slows the steering
down.
Where you might get confused:
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Does the wheel being straight mean that the car is
straight?
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If the wheel looks straight, is that enough?
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Do the back wheels turn when you reverse?
The reality:
When the wheels are straight, this means
that the car will keep going in whichever direction it’s facing.
Whereas, when the car is straight, that is to do with how the
body of the car relates to its surroundings, so it’s really
important to look as far as you can. This gives you a much
better point of reference to allow you to keep the car straight
– your eyes do the steering!
There’s more to having the wheel straight
than just how it looks. In most cars, from full left lock to
full right lock, the wheel can go around 3-4 times. So it’s
really a combination of the wheel looking straight and how the
car moves. That’s part of the reason that you need to avoid “dry
steering”. (Turning the wheel without the car moving.)
Whether you go forwards or backwards, it’s
always the front wheels that control your direction. Because of
this, the car will take a little longer to respond to the
steering when you reverse, so you just need to be patient and
keep the car slow.
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