Driving Myths: Part 3

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By: Taranjit | Last Updated: August 24, 2020

Your friends and family often influence your knowledge on different topics, and driving is one of those things that you learn to go along with what your parents say because, after all, they are the adults. They know what they are talking about, right? Well, they might not always know the facts. Here are some driving myths that they might have believed were true.

Myth #1: Keep your hands at 10 & 2

This no longer is the rule of thumb when placing your hands on the steering wheel. In fact, with improving technology such as powered steering and airbags, this is no longer the correct position. It is actually better to keep your hands at 9 and 3 to allow for better steering and more control. Personally, my position changes depending on the roads and the time of day, but 10 and 2 helps keep you hands out of the way in the rare case your airbag does deploy.

Myth #2: Filling up gas in the morning saves money

This is wild! I have never heard of this myth before, but I guess people believe this. Gas is stored underground at a constant temperature, so early morning colder temperatures will not help you get more gas and save money.

Myth # 3: Four-Wheel Drive Means You’re Safe in Snow

Simply having four-wheel drive doesn’t make you invincible in snow. Yes, it can help you be better off than those without, but snow tires still beat four-wheel drive and no snow tires. So, think twice before you blindly venture out in that nasty snow storm just because you have four-wheel drive.

Myth # 4: Manual Transmission is Better than Automatic for Gas Mileage

This may have been true back in the day, but as many of the driving myths that have been proven wrong, the same reason applies here. Car technology has improved significantly from back then, and now continuous variable transmission (CVT) has allowed automatics similar gas mileage as manual.

Myth #5: Big Vehicles are Safer

While larger vehicles may lead to potentially less injuries as compared to a smaller car, there are many reasons that larger vehicles may be less safe than, say, sedans. For one, larger vehicles have a higher center of gravity which equals a greater chance of rolling over. Specifically, the large SUVs are less safe than mid-size or compact SUVs and tend to have a higher death rate. According to the IIHS, “6,583 passenger vehicle occupants died in rollover crashes in 2018” and crashes causing rollovers “accounted for 29% of all passenger vehicle occupant deaths in 2018”.

But instead of basing it on what would happen in an accident, if you take a look at it from the perspective of avoiding crashes, smaller cars are increasingly being built to do better during wet and dry braking crash avoidance tests. And with the continuous increases in safety features of small cars, their safety levels have also increased greatly. And although, (according to the IIHS) the number of deaths in smaller and lighter vehicles was higher in 2018, the differences are less extreme between both large and small vehicles. Currently, the safer vehicles tend to be large cars and midsize SUVs.

Final Thoughts:

Myth or not, do what you feel will keep you safe while on the road (of course, this is by no means me suggesting you to do something illegal because you think it’s safer).