Steering Column
Part : COL
A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel or hand wheel[citation needed]) 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 rotation, to hinder motor vehicle theft; in most vehicles this is accomplished when the ignition key is removed from the ignition lock.