Driving, smoking and receiving text messages.

It is often seen that old drivers drive with one hand. The most classic picture is: the left front window glass is put down, and the old driver holds a cigarette in his left hand, while his left hand is placed on the window platform, and his finger sticks out of the window with the cigarette. From time to time, he put his left hand back to smoke a cigarette or shake the ash, while his right hand held the steering wheel in one hand and drove the car in the other. This posture looks pretty cool.

Actually, it is illegal to smoke while driving. Many people say that laws and regulations do not stipulate that smoking is illegal, including some lawyers, but the traffic police department does regard smoking while driving as illegal, based on:

"Regulations for the Implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" Article 62 Driving a motor vehicle shall not commit any of the following acts:

3. Calling and answering mobile phones, watching TV and other behaviors that hinder safe driving;

It is clearly stipulated in laws and regulations that it is illegal to answer the phone and watch TV while driving, but there is a word "wait" behind these two behaviors. As long as the traffic police find that it hinders safe driving, they will be punished, including smoking, and they will be deducted 2 points and fined 50~200 yuan, and there are concrete examples. I believe many old smokers have received the notice of punishment for driving and smoking.

So the question is, is it illegal to drive with one hand?

The law does not stipulate whether it is illegal to drive with one hand. The basis for judging whether driving with one hand is illegal is to see if your other hand has any behavior that hinders safe driving. If there is, it is illegal, such as smoking. If not, then not, such as shifting gears. So which behaviors are illegal?

To give a few examples, it is illegal to answer the phone with one hand and drive with the other. It is also illegal to eat with one hand and drive with the other. Drinking water with one hand, playing with people while driving with the other hand and playing with mobile phones are all illegal, which will hinder safe driving.

If one hand is driving and the other hand is used to shift gears, it is not illegal, or if the other hand does nothing, it is not illegal because it does not hinder safe driving.

Back to the beginning, why do old drivers like to drive with one hand?

The first is technical confidence.

When learning to drive in a driving school, the coach repeatedly stressed that holding the steering wheel with both hands is only temporary. He will immediately put his hand back on the steering wheel after shifting gears. After getting a driver's license and owning his own car, he will also drive with both hands, because he is a novice, but with the increase of time and experience, the novice will gradually become an old hand and naturally drive with one hand full of confidence in his driving skills.

For an old driver, holding the steering wheel with one hand can cope with most road conditions. Why do you need two hands to rest with the other hand when you can do what one hand can do? If one hand is tired, change hands, drive with the rest hand and change hands to rest, okay?

The second is caused by habit.

Take my own driving as an example. I've been driving for almost ten years. Occasionally drive with one hand and two hands. I switch unconsciously. I didn't notice it myself. Sometimes when I drive with both hands, it becomes one hand. I didn't deliberately use one hand or two hands, but I was used to automatic switching. This is a habit of conditioned reflex.

I believe that some drivers, like me, don't deliberately drive with one hand or two hands, just switch unconsciously, and sometimes they may be tired. Sometimes they want to rest one hand, which is just a habit.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of driving with one hand compared with driving with two hands?

Advantages of one-handed driving:

1, driving with one hand is more stable than driving with both hands at low speed.

A friend once told me that he said that driving with two hands would drive in the wrong direction, but not with one hand. I laughed at him at that time because he couldn't drive. In fact, the steering wheel will shake involuntarily when driving at low speed on some bumpy roads. If you hold the disc in both hands, your hands will tremble with you. If you hold the disk in one hand, you won't shake it.

There is another situation: when both hands are holding the steering wheel, both hands are trying to grasp the direction. As a result, one hand is slightly harder and the other hand is slightly harder, and the steering wheel will shift to the side with less force. This is what my friend said about driving with two hands, not one hand. Actually, it's still his problem.

Driving with both hands is also skillful. At the same time, only one hand can exert force to control the direction, and the other hand can not exert force. For example, if the car leans to the left, you can gently turn the steering wheel to the right with your right hand. If your left hand also works together, the direction is really off.

2. When driving for a long distance, you can rest your other hand or change your other hand.

When driving long distances, you need to hold the steering wheel for a long time. Holding the steering wheel together for a long time will inevitably be very tired. If you use one hand to control the direction and let the other hand rest, you will not be so tired and you can change hands to rest. Many people like to hold the steering wheel with their left hand and rest on the armrest box in the middle when driving for a long distance.

Disadvantages of one-handed driving:

1, overtaking at high speed will be unsafe.

It's okay to drive with one hand when driving at high speed, but it's not safe with one hand if you need to overtake. When overtaking, there will be a crosswind blowing. Be sure to speed up and hold the steering wheel tightly, preferably with both hands, and don't let the vehicle walk sideways. Driving at a little high speed will cause big problems, especially when overtaking large trucks.

In addition, when you cross some bridges at high speed, you will encounter a warning sign that says "Pay attention to crosswind", which shows that there will be strong crosswind on the bridge deck. Because of the high speed, it will affect the body, so you need to hold the steering wheel tightly with both hands.

2. It is not safe to turn continuously.

Driving with one hand, it is inconvenient to turn, and it doesn't matter if there is a small turn occasionally. If you encounter a continuous turn or a place where you need to turn around, it is obviously not safe to beat it with one hand. When turning with one hand, lean on the palm of your hand and stick to the handle in the direction, and turn hard, for fear of slipping off at once, which is very dangerous, especially in places where you turn continuously. Try to hold the steering wheel with both hands.

3. It is not safe in an emergency.

Driving with one hand is very unsafe in the case of flat tire, sudden braking, emergency turning to avoid the other vehicle, etc. Especially in the case of a flat tire. When driving with one hand, the direction will deviate from 100%, and people will be conditioned in an emergency. When there is a flat tire, the direction will be biased to one side, and people's first reaction is to correct it, but one-handed driving 100% is overkill, which will be biased to the other side, leading to accidents.

For example, if you need to hit the steering wheel to avoid the other vehicle, driving with one hand will be overcorrected because of nervousness, or if you have no time to react, it will cause an accident.

So the best way is to automatically switch driving commands and hands. When overtaking, crossing the wind bridge, turning continuously and in case of emergency, you must drive with both hands. You can drive with one hand at other times. Sometimes driving with one hand or two hands will automatically switch according to the road conditions without the driver's consciousness, which is the safest.