They are great, but only in vehicles with little "road feel". Road feel is forces experienced by the tires being transmitted up through the steering system. S

They are great, but only in vehicles with little "road feel". Road feel is forces experienced by the tires being transmitted up through the steering system. Say you hit a pothole, on a forklift you won't feel the wheel move. In a road car the steering while might jump a couple inches. If your arm/hand gets between the knob and something solid, that pothole just broke your thumb. Note that vehicles with brodie knobs rarely have solid arm rests. Similarly, you can always spot an Auzzi because they steer while keeping thumbs outside of the steering wheel. In a country with a greater offroad tradition, kids are taught to keep thumbs outside the wheel in case it jumps.