Why Did Vehicle Operators Start Wearing Protective Gloves?

Whilst trade workwear will typically vary dramatically in size, shape and materials to suit the job at hand and provide optimum levels of protection and professional style, nowhere is this perhaps more evident than in the types of work gloves available.

From disposable latex gloves used in situations where hygiene and protection from skin contact are essential to hard-wearing anti-vibration or chainsaw safety gauntlets, the only commonality between different types of work gloves is that they have space for four fingers and a thumb.

Most of them are designed purely with practicality in mind, but there is one particular type of work glove worn as much for tradition as they are for practicality and that is the ones worn by vehicle operators.

The Dawn And Evolution Of The Driving Glove

Vehicle operators, whether they drive large lorries or dextrous forklifts, will often choose to wear gloves, and whilst there are a variety of options, they often need to be both thin and relatively sensitive, yet be strong enough to provide protection from a variety of different hazards.

These issues were found in the very earliest practical motor vehicles starting in the 1890s, which due to the nature of their design were filled with potential hazards for the hands.

Before steering wheels were coated in a protective layer such as leather or plastic, they were typically made from wood or metal without any type of coating on it.

If they were made from the former, the untreated, unfinished wood could sometimes have splinters in it which could cut, slice or impale the skin and impede the driver.

If they were made from the latter, they were vulnerable to the elements in cars that were typically convertibles. This meant that during the summer months, they could burn to the touch due to the heat absorption, and even if they were merely warm, they could cause the palms to sweat and slip off the wheel.

Alternatively, during particularly cold weather, the steering wheel could be uncomfortably or even harmfully cold to the touch, which would also stop a driver from operating the vehicle with due care and attention.

Initially, thin, soft leather gloves with an inner layer of a warm material such as wool would help with this protection, ensuring a driver could maintain control of the vehicle and protect their hands at the same time.

In the early days of motoring, before the development of power steering and driver aids that would require drivers to exercise a more sensitive approach to driving, such gloves would allow operators to maintain a firm grip and thus ensure they can keep the vehicle moving in a straight line.

Another part of this was the dirt and danger involved with just starting a car. Before the development of the ignition switch, vehicles often used a starting handle, which was not only dirty but could potentially break the user’s wrist if not carefully done.

All of this would change over time, and modern vehicle safety gloves are much thinner and typically have an outer layer designed to aid with grip on the wheel to aid with particularly advanced driving techniques.