Assessment of the actual hand position on the steering wheel for drivers of passenger cars while driving

Abstract

This work deals with the assessment of the actual position of the hands on the steering wheel of drivers of passenger cars in specific driving modes. The findings are compared with the location that is generally considered to be optimal in terms of both active and passive safety, and the long - term effects on the health of the driver. The research desc ribed in this work was carried out on a sample of randomly selected drivers in the Czech Republic. For all of the measurements, one identical neutral passenger middle - class vehicle, with which none of the test subjects had previous experience, was selected . The reason for this research was to model a normal situation where the driver controls a vehicle with his hands on the steering wheel in a position that is only the result of his or her own intuition and the subjective sense of the driver’s comfort. On t he basis, of a statistical evaluation of the obtained data, it was found that the introductory hypothesis, which states that a significant part of the tested sample of drivers holds the steering wheel in an unsuitable manner, can be confirmed. This fact ne gatively impacts not only on the reduction of active and passive safety, but also affects the health of drivers who drive a large amount of kilometres annually. The results of this work can be used in the design of cabs and modern passenger car systems tha t will be able to motivate the driver to hold the steering wheel in an optimal way. This will directly affect road safety and positively influence the health of drivers.