When I took Drivers Ed in the late 90s, the "10 and 2" position was hammered into my brain by instructors as the only way to safely grip a steering wheel. According to this video by AAA, though, not only is that position wrong, it's dangerous.  In the video below, AAA Manager of Driver Training Operations William Van Tassel, PhD, explains that the outdated "10 and 2" wisdom dates from the era before power steering, when turning a wheel required quite a bit of force by a driver. At that time, the easiest way to turn a wheel was by pulling down on it in, so it made sense to keep your hands in the higher position.  Now, though, power steering is the norm, so there's no reason to keep your hands up high. Furthermore, the advent of the airbag makes "10 and 2" downright dangerous. As Tassel shows in the video, if the airbag deploys when your hands are in that position, they will be blown into your face by the force of impact. Anyone who's inadvertently smacked themselves through clumsiness (No? Just me?) knows that you can do some damage, so just imagine what would happen if your hands were flying into your face thanks to what Car and Driver describes as "literally a contained and directed explosion."  Want to minimize the damage and direct your hands away from your face in the event of airbag deployment? Tassel recommends the hand positions of 9 and 3 or 8 and 4, which allows a driver to be in firm control of the wheel and at the same time causes arms to fly out towards the sides rather than break your own nose.      Resources: Drivers Ed: Steering safercar.gov: Air bag safety