Shuffle Steering 

just left my second lesson of driving school I applied your method...and it worked like a charm. my instructor was blown away because just Saturday I was horrible at turning. God bless u sir 🙏💯👼

This was super helpful and picked up a few new tips. Can’t wait for EVOC. Also, thanks for showing it in a Crown Vic, too. Always a treat to hear that engine!

So I'm one day out of Bobby Ores stunt driving school and looking up more information about shuffle steering and first video that pops up is my instructor Dave who taught me this method! So much awesome! Glad I found this channel. Now that I know this method, I feel more control of the car. Thanks again Dave! -Christopher LeTard

I never knew about this method. Watched your video, went and tried it. It's very accurate and great for quick adjustments. Thanks.

Thank you, Sir, for a perfect demonstration of what I have always taught. I was an instructor in the UK for many years, and was constantly having to defend what we call 'feeding the wheel', or the 'push-pull' method, to students who were under the mistaken impression that crossing hands gives better control, particularly at speed. People talk such nonsense about feeding the wheel. The fact is that with shuffle steering you can turn every bit as fast - if not faster - because _both hands are always exactly where they need to be, and can respond to changing needs immediately._ This is not the case when crossing hands. Superb video, Sir.

Thank you for this excellent video. While performance driving isn't a skill I need in my day to day life, I've found that by using this method, it feels like I have greater control of my car and can drive more safely. It does take getting used to though.

I drive a school bus and tried this method . It works most of the time but for very tight turns or parallel parking I find myself doing hand-over-hand out of habit. Also I like how after 30 years, Mike Tyson is still the standard bearer in punching power

I've been using this exact method for a little over a year now and it does wonders for your overall driving performance. It just sucks for really slow tight turns like pulling into traffic in downtown or maneuvering through a parking lot. I find hand over hand is the best method for those situations

oh man you definitely need to upload more of these tips and techniques for performance driving videos. This one was great. I will be AutoXing my 08' P71 and could definitely use some more of these tips.

Great technique, thank you for sharing it with us! This is the best video on Shuffle Steering I found on the RU-vid. Would you please add more videos on Shuffle Steering, for example the use of this style in real life driving, in city?

Great video! Thanks…. I’ll definitely incorporate this steering method into my daily driving.

thank you, i'll try this! Look really relaxed and laid back technique.

very instructive, actually, the very best vd on youtube on the matter; thanks a bunch, sir!

I've been teaching Military, Federal LE, and Bodyguards Highspeed and Tactical driving full time for just over 10 years now. We teach Push / Pull Shuffle steer as the primary steering wheel management platform. We incorporate hand over hand at slower speeds in between tight obstacles or when oversteer happens violently and you need to get ahead of it quickly we'll do it once or twice at tops and then transition back to shuffle. We'll use palming the wheel during Y-turns and when backing (hand stays at 12 o'clock reference point). But shuffle steer is our base. We encourage most students to use the wheel from around 9 and 3 down. Most people when they get high and the stress / "oh shit!" moment hits get twitchy as hell. Which also applies to hand over hand and and people locking their hands in at either 9 and 3 or 10 and 2 and maxing turning the wheel. The goal is to be smooth and whatever it takes for that to happen, which I find is shuffle steer with keeping hands lower on the wheel for most students. That being said, I recognize that people who drive professionally can develop a level of sensitivity and smoothness that allows them to transcend the limitations and pitfalls of the average guy. I have seen some of my co-workers who when they drive for their fastest laps prefer to drive one-handed. Though I am a two-handed shuffle steer guy the whole time (unless I'm doing some major drifting, then I mix it up some lol) I think what many racers don't think about during these discussion is the difference between a closed circuit and a open road where major 'oh shit!' moments can happen and just how much adrenaline dumps can instantly affect the smoothness of your steering inputs. Any movement that involves bigger gross motor muscle groups can instantly turn into big snapping violent motions under stress. And the way the startle response works the closer the threat is when you perceive it and the more dangerous it appears to you the more exaggerated your startle response will be (therefore the more violent your hand and arm movements will be, generally speaking). Keeping hands lower on the wheel and using the shuffle steer helps to minimize this from occurring during an oh shit moment and under stress in general (teaching students who have come under attack to drive fast to get away, or bodyguards who have a VIP with a medical emergency to get him to a ER or similar, or LE to get to a call to back up officers in dire need or during a pursuit, or the average person driving a injured loved one to the ER, etc). Also, racers should consider the difference between the finely tuned race cars, specifically set for different courses etc, and the stock car made for the highways and byways. And the difference in weight and therefore the amount of weight transfer that takes place with every single steering input. It is a big difference between say an Indie or Formula car and a stock Crown Vic like we use as the base training platform vehicle. We have had a Nascar and Indie driver come out with some corporate experience type groups. It took them a little bit to get used to the heavier vehicles. The Indie driver ran out the back side of several corners his first two laps of high speed after having already done some collision avoidance and vehicle dynamic drills laps for a few hours. He told the instructor his car was about a third the weight and far lower to the ground and the stock Vic was a totally different beast. We told him, imagine pushing it like this in a Suburban or uparmored Suburban. He thought that would be crazy. So, understanding that the weight of the vehicle impacts the effect your steering inputs have on the smoothness of the drive as well. Which is a big reason we teach shuffle steer. Because of lots of people who drive SUV's (prone to rollovers when snapping the wheel) and military guys with uparmored SUV's, etc. My only complaint on this video is the whole Castor effect and letting the wheel slip. I don't advocate that (unless I'm drifting). The more weight transfer you get (faster you're going and heavier the vehicle is), the more unwind you're going to get and the more quickly its going to happen than you expect, changing the direction of your travel outward radically in an instant. I like positive control and moving the hands to work the wheel. Put minimum steering in and you only have to take minimum steering out. For normal cornering whether at low speeds or high speeds i wouldn't let the wheel slide.

Thank you for this. Nobody discusses anything about castor effect. I always let the steering wheel straighten out by itself. But people say it's not right and get into my head. Thanks for clarifying. Also, hand to hand always made my steering clumsy. I either turned too narrow or too wide because of fear of turning too narrow. Also, all those hands overlapping was confusing. It's very unnatural for me. Glad push pull automatically got into my habit. I still use hand to hand during three points turns though.

For some reason there is no reply button for Mubarak's question on warming up your vehicle, so here is the answer: Modern cars do not need an extended warm-up time. Once you start your car, the engine oil has circulated through the system within 10 to 30 seconds. So about 10 seconds after you start your car, the best thing to do is gently drive it for the next few minutes to let it warm up to its operating temperature. I have a Toyota Tacoma with over 300,000 miles on it, and I have been warming it up in this manner since I bought it. Many people will start their car then go back inside their house for a few minutes because they believe the engine needs to warm up before driving, and they want the heater warm the interior. This is an excellent way to get your car stolen. It happens very frequently that car thieves will walk around neighborhoods looking for cars idling in the driveway.

I'm going through ledt tomorrow this helps understand shuffle steering

Nice video, clear instructions. Thanks!

Been using this system since 2005, though I steer out of turns as well out of habit in case of lost traction (snow driving does that, so can't rely on caster effect all the time), and I've modified the technique for sim racing. Still, the best thing I've ever learned in regards to driving, both my racing and snow driving has benefited greatly.

Great video.

I have always done this. I always thought I was being a rebel against my driving instructors.

For PassionOfTheGoose: (no reply button on your nice comment). Thanks for the kind words. One of our Lead Instructors is 6' 8" and he says the same thing. If you ever see us out there at Marina, come and say "Hi".

Thank you for this video!

Perfect, this is exactly what I was looking for.

Pure gold. Hope you will make some more videos soon.

The British Roadcraft police driver's handbook will disagree. Letting go of the steering wheel is surrendering control of the car. Pull-push steering is not for airbag injury mitigation, but it is a benefit. Push-pull steering has the smoothest transition from fixed input steering. Fixed input steering has the most precision, hand-over-hand has the most range. Pull-push is bang in the middle.

thanks to ur good driveing tips

i only got 1 wrong in the writing test and 1 wrong in the behind the wheel exam

Fantastic video. I use this technique for performance pleasure driving, track days, and autocross (some of which I've done at Marina airport). I have never felt comfortable crossing my arms over, even before air-bags were standard on most vehicles. I'm 6'1 with long arms, so tangling myself like a pretzel just feels uncomfortable. I also feel that I have better mid-corner control with my hands at the sides of the wheel. Cheers, and stay safe.

Thanks so much for this vid! About to get my permit and learning safe driving techniques before I hit the road

Shuffling for "Performance driving at any speed"? I've never seen ANY professional race driver doing the shuffle. Would love to see some on-board footage of one if so. Also letting go of the wheel (to let castor work) in a situation where the car is at the edge of grip means that you as a driver loose communication with the car. Which could lead to interesting situations when weight transfer kicks in, especially when you keep in mind that road cars are setup for understeer but race cars for neutral/oversteer. Also airbags are not an issue in race cars, so it would be safer to grab over with a quarter to 3 hand position. It gives you the posibility to turn the wheel almost 3/4 of a full turn before having to grab over, which is useful for most corners with a race car. It's even enough to take most street corners with your normal car at normal speeds. So no... professional race drivers wouldn't shuffle as far as I can see. I'm willing to ask Ben 'The ex-Stig' Collins about it, but I've never seen him shuffle. In fact Ben Collins wrote in his book "How to Drive": "The shortfall (of the Shuffle) is that you lose a sense of balance and the ability to gauge how much steering has been applied, which in turn can affect your reaction to an incident. And unless you're really slick, making a turn tends to be a jerky series of direction changes rather than a smooth curve. I find it pretty daft for anything other than the most basic applications" Mind you, Ben Collins his mentor was non other than Jackie Stewart himself. A man famous for his smooth driving and racing.

shuffle steering will pass your driver's test, help you in daily driving, and some autocross course. But it won't help when you have a quick 90 deg right straight to a 90 degree left, which doesn't happen at all realy in real life driving, but on a rally course or autocross, track course it does. This technique should not be promoted as a "performance" driving technique as you should never use "castor" effect when you're performance driving to straighten out the wheel.

Funny I've been doing this the entire time. I never learned the "correct" way to steer. But I find this superior to hand over hand anyway as the wheels do straighten themselves.

2:12 now sir I'm pretty sure that's a 04 toyota tacoma now.

Always pays to have good tread on ur tyres

Is there a risk of letting go of the steering wheel? (caster effect). I know some instructors tell people not to do that.

Very effective

Thank you sir.

Awesome! Very nice :)

can you do it on a drivers test?

Does it matter if you pull or push first?

Did you run over the cones at the end? Also, shuffle steering allows me to drive down the freeway easier: I lower the steering wheel down to my lap and place my thumbs at 5 and 7 and this makes the long and straight more comfortable

Hello! I really enjoyed Your video - very informative :) I'm currently learning to use this technique instead of traditional hand - over - hand ;) I would be very grateful for a response to few questions that appeared when I started to apply shuffle steering: - Is it still possible to steer quickly with this technique while driving on very slippery condition (ice, snow...) when The traction is limited which may reduce the caster effect? - can I safely use this method when driving at lower speeds when the caster effect may also be limited? - is it safe to place hands on The steering wheel in 9-and-3 o'clock position instead of 8-and-4 as suggested in The video? I feel that the first placement gives You a better Access to The blinker and wipers' Control levers :) Thank You very much in advance, and greetings from Poland :) Godspeed!

Can I ask you question may be related to your job Is Warming Up the car engine in the morning necessary ? Like turn on the car for 7 to 10 minute before driving it ? I don't know if it's an Urban legend here in my country or not but I do it every morning my car Is toyota echo

thanks for the tip sir.I really apreciat it I have my behind the wheel exam on April 21 2016 wish me luck: \

very nice

For me, if I am about to make a tight turn for example to the left, I will position my left hand at around the 12 ~ 1 o'clock position and keep my right hand at the 3 ~ 4 o'clock position but not holding the wheel, and then make my turn with only my left hand. Once my left hand is around the 6 o'clock position, I will then use my right hand if I need to turn tighter. Though I will unwind the wheel using the caster effect. And at high speeds, I will just keep my hands at 9 and 3 since you are limited by the tires lateral grip and so there's no need to turn the steering wheel more than 180 degrees and it allows for great precision too. And so I don't see how this push pull method is that effective since you can't put in steering input quickly nor can you be smooth with steering because of the transition from one hand to the other and it's really demanding. Honestly, I'd rather worry about avoiding an accident than about hurting my hand or my hand smacking my face.

0:55 the thing is that with hand-over-hand or one-handed method you probably have better chances of avoiding an accident because you can steer much faster that way. Try performing a moose test using shuffle steering and camber effect

Can u show how to do it in a manual car

the car I use on my road test didn't have this steering that the wheel automatically comes back

I either palm the wheel or I shuffle steer..... depends what mood I'm in to use if im smoking a cigarette I palm the wheel

Would this technique along with the caster effect be used in moderate to high speed chicanes? also what about hairpins or U-Turns at a pace faster than you would do your average U-Turn?

What do folks prefer more? Firearms training or EVOC?

Dave, I always have students who cross arms during tight turns, and get confused by my telling them about shuffle steering. Maye here's why www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/05/just-say-no-to-shuffle-steering/ i steer as you recommend tho not for the reason of airbag risk. but for the lighter touch on wheel, and keeping my torso back in the seat, thus able to feel the car balance better, IMHO.

What would you say is the best position for steering with this technique? How far should you be from the steering? Thanks.

no crossing hand

and also the behind the wheel exam

I hate how you fail the drivers test in Georgia if you do this technique. I like this way better.

Letting the natural castor of the wheels work in your favor is great, but you're not actually in control of the vehicle when you're litting the wheels just slip through your hands like that. How are you managing things like torque steer on corner exit? I'll echo others that have stated rightly that this isn't something you see any professional driver use. It's always being taught by the police and EMS community. Can certainly get the job done, but I don't feel it's actually the fastest and most effective means to hustle a vehicle around.

Can you use this method for an everyday use?

Im only 15 , do you think I should do this during my driving exam or should I do what they say for the exam ?

Can u reverse using shuffle steering?

i passed my driveing exam

Is "pull push steering" the same as shuffle steering?

Shuffle steering is stupid and takes away reaction time needed when driving fast or when an accident is about to happen and fast reflexes are needed. This is newbie crap at best.

Is this a joke? Surely it's a joke. If not, I can't believe US police are teaching (and trying to justify) THE WORST technique imaginable for car control and precision. The ONLY justification for his video is the 'airbag punch' but your likelihood of getting into that situation is amplified by orders of magnitude if you are pushing hard and employing the shuffle technique. Just ask or watch any driver in any category of motorsport. Then again, the Americans like doing things differently so makes sense in a way I suppose.