Driving without a Steering Wheel: Don’t Do It

Ever tried to drive without a steering wheel in Mario Kart or in those fun arcade driving games at Dave & Buster’s? No? It’s probably because it wouldn’t work. You would continuously fall off Rainbow Road or run into dinosaurs. In other words, something not productive or beneficial to you winning the game. That, and you can’t exactly take the wheel of an arcade game off without getting 86ed or travel into the land of the Mario and Friends to remove the steering wheel. We’re not in Tron. We can’t travel into video games.

Although you are stopped from this form of unruly and dangerous driving in the virtual world, you aren’t in the real world (seems backwards). No, I’m not talking about MTV’s Real World, either. I’m talking of the actual real world. The one which you and I live that isn’t scripted by television. However, in this reality there is the sad truth that people have been seen driving with their steering wheel out the window. Literally.
Most would think your steering wheel is a vital piece of your car. However, the two men driving their Honda Civics didn’t think to seem their steering wheel was important or the lack of one is dangerous. In fact, they probably think the look cool. Well, gentlemen, let me fill you in on a little secret. Living your life this “dangerously” isn’t the type of living-life-on-the-edge man the ladies are after. This is the type they run from as you crash into the sidewalk they were taking their Sunday stroll on. Just a side note.

For those wondering how this is possible, the answer is the detachable steering wheel. This invention was created in the early 1990’s by Hsiang H. Wu who believed that having a steering wheel you could remove would help prevent car theft. He wasn’t exactly wrong either. In Texas, where the two men appeared to be from (due to their Texas license plates), grand theft auto went from 163,837 vehicles stolen in 1991 when this invention was filed to 68,220 in 2010. That’s a 58% decrease.
Yes, the statistics show great progress, but driving while your steering wheel is not in its rightful place is two steps backward, if not more. Not only does driving without your steering wheel throw driving safely out the window (pun intended), it is also close to impossible. For this to work as intended, you need a road that is completely level, has no turns, and where there is 110% chance that you won’t need to swerve for anything unexpected (poor driver, animal, fallen branch, etc.). Also, your alignment must be spot on. Once you find this road, then maybe, just maybe, you can achieve safe driving without a steering wheel. Until then, please everyone, drive with your steering wheel attached to your vehicle in its rightful place. If you have a detachable steering wheel, use it for what it was intended and remove it only when you are parked and your car is off.
*Note: The road described above does not exist. Do NOT drive without a steering wheel.