SHE SAYS . . .

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31112, 15 July 1966, Page 11

SHE SAYS . . .

Last week I launched an assault on car designers who provide their vehicles with, only one exterior door-lock, now I would like to extend the attack. Just why do designers not give more thought to the one control we have in our hands at all times —the steering wheel. In many cars the steering wheels and their position are badly designed. Some are too big and would be more appropriate for a bus and you almost dislocates a shoulder when you “wind the wheel up” to negotiate a sharp corner.

At the other end of the scale, a few cars have wheels too small for the steering ratio, so that the steering is excessively heavy and once again manipulating the wheel becomes a battle, particularly for women, who cannot bring to bear the sheer muscle that seems necessary for slow-speed manoeuvring. Some steering wheels are mounted too low, so it is difficult to fit under the bottom edge of the wheelrim when the seat is well forward, a fault that women will notice very quickly.' Getting out of the driving seat of such a car

when wearing a tight skirt can be a real struggle! Even greater difficulties confront the mother-to-be, who may soon find that driving the car is completely impossible. One major car maker always seems to mount his steering wheel too far from the dash —so that one must always drive with the arms sharply bent—moving the seat back far enough to allow straighter arms takes the pedals completely out of reach. Women, in particular, often find trouble with steering wheels that are too high, so they cannot see clearly over the top of the rim. Personally, I prefer a med-ium-sized wheel with good fingergrips on the reverse side, . the wood-rim and leather- covered wheels being the best A good accessory selling for a few shillings is a lace-on leather steering wheel glove. But the ideal is obviously the fully-adjustable wheel fitted to many of the more expensive cars: the wheel can then be adjusted both for height and for reach. This is a feature which must appear on family cars before long.