
Other designs Ĭheerful steering wheel cover on a two-spoke Volkswagen Beetle steering wheel

Department of Transportation required the locking of steering wheel rotation (or transmission locked in "park") to hinder motor vehicle theft in most vehicles, this is accomplished when the ignition key is removed from the ignition lock. Passenger automobile regulations implemented by the U.S. While other methods of steering passenger cars have resulted from experiments, for example the "wrist-twist" steering of the 1965 Mercury Park Lane concept car was controlled by two 5-inch (127 mm) rings, none have yet been deployed as successfully as the conventional large steering wheel. However, hydraulically assisted systems have prevailed. Mechanical power steering systems were introduced, such as on 1953 Studebakers. Modern power steering has almost universally relied on a hydraulic system, although electrical systems are steadily replacing this technology.
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Power steering gives the driver an easier means by which the steering of a car can be accomplished. Collapsible steering columns were required to meet that standard. 204) were implemented concerning the acceptable rearward movement of the steering wheel in case of crash. In 1968, United States regulations ( FMVSS Standard No. By 1956, Ford came out with a safety steering wheel that was set high above the post with spokes that would flex, but the column was still rigid.

The first collapsible steering column was invented in 1934 but was never successfully marketed. This arrangement increased the risk of impaling the driver in case of a severe crash. The steering wheels were rigid and mounted on non-collapsible steering columns. Modern automobiles may have other controls, such as cruise control, audio system, and telephone controls, as well as paddle-shifters, built into the steering wheel to minimize the extent to which the driver must take their hands off the wheel. In addition to its use in steering, the steering wheel is the usual location for a button to activate the car's horn. In countries where cars must drive on the left side of the road, the steering wheel is typically on the right side of the car (right-hand drive or RHD) the converse applies in countries where cars drive on the right side of the road (left-hand drive or LHD). Other types of vehicles may use the circular design, a butterfly shape, or some other shape. Steering wheels for passenger automobiles are generally circular and are mounted to the steering column by a hub connected to the outer ring of the steering wheel by one or more spokes (single spoke wheels being a rather rare exception). Passenger cars Ī RHD mounted wheel with airbag, as well as audio and cruise control buttons Most other car makers began offering cars with left-hand drive in 1910. Jeffery, the position of the driver was also moved to the left-hand side of the car during the 1903 Rambler production. Within a decade, the steering wheel had entirely replaced the tiller in automobiles.Īt the insistence of Thomas B. By 1904, all Ramblers featured steering wheels. The following year, the Rambler Model E was largely unchanged, except that it came equipped with a tiller early in the year, but with a steering wheel by the end of 1903.

However, the early automaker adopted a more "conventional" rear-engine and tiller-steering layout for its first mass-produced Ramblers in 1902. Jeffery, developed two advanced experimental cars featuring a front-mounted engine, as well as a steering wheel that was mounted on the left-hand side. Arthur Constantin Krebs replaced the tiller with an inclined steering wheel for the Panhard car he designed for the 1898 Paris–Amsterdam–Paris race which ran 7–13 July 1898. Charles Rolls introduced the first car in Britain fitted with a steering wheel when he imported a 6 hp Panhard from France in 1898.

įrom 1898, the Panhard et Levassor cars were equipped as standard with steering wheels. That is believed to be one of the earliest employments of the principle. The first automobiles were steered with a tiller, but in 1894, Alfred Vacheron took part in the Paris–Rouen race with a Panhard 4 hp model which he had fitted with a steering wheel. Near the start of the 18th century, a large number of sea vessels appeared using the ship's wheel design, but historians are unclear when that approach to steering was first used. 1913 Ford Model T Speedster with rigid steering column and four-spoke wooden steering wheel
