A Dublin driving instructor has given a key driving safety tip that many people may not know.
David Murphy, from Drive Academy Dublin, has revealed the one thing he has to keep telling learner drivers to remember - not to wrap your thumbs around the steering wheel. In the short video clip, David goes through the main reason why you shouldn't do this - the steering wheel airbag.
"If this airbag goes off, it goes off at incredible force, at incredible speed" he says. "And the first thing that's going to happen is your thumb is going to just snap upwards."
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David then shares with his followers that he learned this lesson the hard way himself, showing off some faint scarring from an accident he had two decades ago where this exact thing happened.
He then illustrates where the thumb protectors - which look like little rounded notches on the wheel just above the centre - are located on the steering wheel. A number of people in the comments had their minds blown by the video, detailing that they were never told anything about this obvious danger.
One said: "I would never think of this! Thank you for your spreading your knowledge!" Another revealed: "Only learned that recently from a garda."
And other people added more reasons never to grip the steering wheel that tightly: "I'll give you another reason not to wrap your thumb round the steering wheel, if you hit an object with the front wheel."
Another said: "While still in a forward motion, the steering will spin. it's instant thumb dislocation." And a third commented: "Airbags can break all the fingers, not just thumbs."
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