Monday, June 1, 2015

Steering : it's not evil.

I recently watched a friend of mine do a five-point turn in their SUV to turn it around and get it facing the other way. Total facepalm. I asked him why it took him so long and he said "oh it's the car - it has a terrible turning circle".
Hmmmm. I suspected it was the driver, not the car, so I told him as much and said "here - let me show you something". I hopped in, and spun the car kerb-to-kerb in a single turn with no reversing. Why? Because I used the steering wheel for what it was designed for - steering. When I watched him (and countless other drivers) steering, he turned the wheel about 135 degrees - about as far as your arm will go when you grasp the right side of the wheel with your right hand and try to steer to the left.
It boggles my mind how many drivers don't know what full-lock is on their steering and how, short of being in a long wheelbase monster truck, you can actually turn pretty damn tightly in most vehicles nowadays. Not London-cab-tight, but it doesn't take a five-point turn to flip around, that's for damn sure.