you can take a thin blade screwdriver and slip it in there to release it in a emergency situation, like to straighten the wheels for a tow or to load on a trailer. I used to be able to twist them off and break the locks in them to release them to load on a trailer when we were scrapping alot of the older gm cars/ trucks years ago. I remember twisting the steering wheel off the hub on a 79 trans am years ago and the guy I was hauling it off from freaking out because I was strong enough to do that. I'm way out of shape to do it anymore tho lol