Controlling the direction (8)
I believe the answer is:
steering
'controlling the direction' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for steering that I've seen before include "Guiding, directing the course" , "Integers (anag)" , "This wheel guides using integers" , "Controlling the direction" , "Mechanism that allows a vehicle to be guided" .)