When riding in the car as a passenger do you hold the handle above the door, on the dashboard, on the door frame ACROSS from the mirror outside, or on the car door panel where the window controls are?

I don’t hold anything unless the person is driving like a maniac! If I rest my arm anywhere it would be on the car door panel where the controls are.

None,unless I’m screaming.XD

I don’t hold anything. If I feel I have to (if the driver is being crazy) I go for the one by the window controls. (I haven’t been in many cars that have a handle on the dash, but maybe that’s just me.)

I refer to that bar or area as the “Oh sh!t” bar and no I don’t hold on to it unless the person driving is the worst driver in the world.

Above the door on the interior of the car.

The steering wheel. I am a lousy passenger.

I’m usually always the driver. When I’m passenger I do hold the door handle next to me (even when I have to ride in the back seat.

I don’t feel a need to hold onto handles when i ride in a car. My muscles and seat belt keep me sitting up right.

I don’t hold on to anything. My arms are usually crossed on my chest.

Car door panel where the window controls are (and I’m not merely speculating as I have done this before.) I would have to stretch to reach the handle above the door or on the dashboard, and I would never in a million years stick my arm outside a moving vehicle.

I don’t hang on to anything….unless I feel the need, in which case I hang on to the handle above the door that is made for that purpose. AND if I’m feeling that kind of need to hang on to something when someone else is driving, I GET OUT ASAP.

I don’t hold anything.

I only hang on to the “oh shit handle,” when the driver has me so scared that I’m yelling “oh shit, let me out!!!”

I never hold on to handles, when i drive.

My two hands are always on the steering wheel.

I like to hang on to the handle above the door, no matter how well the driver is driving. I always get yelled at when i dot his though, especially if I go for the “Jesus bar” as most of my friends call it when there isn’t one there. Drivers have a tendency to start yelling, “My driving is fine, why are you going for the Jesus bar???” to which I respond, “I always hang on to that bar, even when my mother is driving and she’s the best driver I know!”

It always seemed odd to me that someone would grab for that bar if the driver was driving badly. If the driver is scaring me, I bring my arms close to my body because, in a wreck, I figure my arms are less likely to be severed if they are close to my body.

@john65pennington: The question is about what you hold onto when you’re a passenger. :)

I never hold on to the handles. I’m usually holding either a book or a map.

Apparently I’ve ridden with some of the same drivers as @Cruiser. I’ve had to navigate from the right hand seat a few times, but never for long. Otherwise my hands are in my lap.

I rest my arm on the arm rest in the door, and hook my hand in my seat belt to keep it from choking me, if I am not in my own car, which has a seat belt hook attached to it.

I don’t usually hold on to anything. If something happens and I need to grab something, I’ll grab the handle on the inside (the “oh shit” bar).

None of the above; my hands are usually in my lap.

The only reason to hold the “Jesus bar” is if you are about to roll over.
I have seen very few cars that have a handle anywhere inside other than the door or above it on the inside (the aforementioned “Jesus bar”) and holding the outside handle is a moron move unless you are travelling less than 30MPH in clear, warm weather with no traffic or roadside features that can rip your arm off.

@KatawaGrey It’s a good thing you’ll never ride with me since I would take that as an excuse to justify you grabbing that bar and do some drifting. And trust me, the only real use for that handle is to aid in entry/egress. If the side bolsters on the seats don’t keep you from leaning (as most American cars don’t but most Japanese cars do) then the car was designed completely wrong.

@jerv: Wait, what? I have no idea what you just said other than that you would endanger me because I was trying to make myself more comfortable…

@KatawaGrey Endanger? No. I do not exceed either my limits as a driver or the limits of the vehicle I am in, so you would be as safe as you would with someone else driving. The only real danger is incontinence.
However, if your version of “getting comfortable” is what most passengers do to signify that they are ready for extreme maneuvering, then I might take you up on that invitation. You have to watch what signals you put out there since they don’t always mean what you think they do, at least not to all people.

@jerv: I would think swerving around rather than asking me why I’m holding the handle would put out some pretty bad signals. Why should I be careful simply because you don’t know the motivation of my actions? Driving badly to “punish” me for doing something I do normally that harms no one is much worse than my holding onto the handle.

@KatawaGrey First off, you grabbing the handle is a quite obvious sign to me what your motivation is. If I am wrong then it is because your reason (in this case, to get comfortable) is far different from that of most people; such a minority that misinterpretation is inevitable. Put another way, if my way of saying “Hello.” was to punch people in the face, people would misinterpret my friendly greeting as violent intent. See where I am coming from?

So we’ve already established that you have told me that you are in the mood for some gymkhana, autocrossing, or a touge run, even if that is not your intent. Now, you ask why you should be careful since I am supposed to know what you are thinking and what your motivations are without being a mind-reader. If I even have to field that one, then we have a problem here and it’s not one I wish to address right now.

As for driving badly, you seem to have a different idea of “badly” than I do. I regard “badly” as either losing control of the vehicle (skids and slide can be controlled, so don’t mistake lack of grip for loss of control!!!!) and/or posing a danger to others, which is why I generally save such stuff for clear roads. I may want to have a little fun, especially if a passenger indicates the same desire, but not at the expense of safety.

removed by me

To be honest if I see someone as a passenger, holding on to a handle, the first thing that would cross my mind is not that they’re in the mood for some crazy driving. I would assume they’re afraid of car travel.

@downtide The people I’ve driven around that are nervous in cars tend to grab themselves and try to curl up into a fetal position. My wife used to be like that, but after riding with me for a while and knowing how careful I am, I am now one of the only people she trusts behind the wheel. With most other drivers, she still gets spooked.
It should go without saying that I don’t drive like a madman without an invitation from my passengers though. When carrying people that aren’t into that, I actually drive rather conservatively.