A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel or hand wheelFact: date=June 2008) is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels (ships and boats). This article deals with steering wheels in cars; see steering wheel (ship) for the use in vessels.

Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles as well as light and heavy trucks. The steering wheel is the part of the steering system that is manipulated by the driver; the rest of the steering system responds to such driver inputs. This can be through direct mechanical contact as in recirculating ball or rack and pinion steering gears, without or with the assistance of hydraulic power steering HPS, or as in some modern production cars with the assistance of computer controlled motors EPS. With the introduction of federal vehicle regulation in the United States in 1968, FMVSS 114 required the impairment of steering wheel movement, to hinder motor vehicle theft; in most vehicles this is accomplished when the ignition key is removed from the ignition lock.

Remote car audio controls are often included on the steering wheels of newer vehicles.

History

In 1894 Alfred Vacheron took part in the famous Paris-Rouen-Race. He called his vehicle like his name "Vacheron". But in fact it was a 1893 Panhard 4hp model which he had fitted with a "wheel steering"! That is believed to be one of the earliest employments of this principle. In the race which was won by a De Dion-Bouton Steam-mobile, Vacheron became 11th. (Source: the book "The World on Wheels - Volume I" by H.O.Duncan, printed in Paris 1927, page 456-457, picture of the Vacheron-Car at page 457) From 1898 the Panhard&Levassor Cars were equipped as standard with wheel steering.

C S Rolls introduced the first car in Britain fitted with wheel steering as he imported a 6 hp Panhard & Levassor from France in 1898. Arthur Constantin KREBS replaced the tiller with an inclined steering wheel for the Panhard car he designed for the Paris-Amsterdam race which ran from the 7th to 13rd of July 1898.

The first automobiles were steered with a tiller, but Packard introduced the steering wheel on the second car they built, in 1899. Within a decade, the steering wheel had entirely replaced the tiller in automobiles.

Passenger cars

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). Other types of vehicles may use the circular design, a butterfly shape, or some other shape. 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).