steering systems for motor vehicles that allow steer - by - wire operation are well known from the prior art and therefore do not need to be described in greater detail . the following description of the figure therefore relates primarily to those components of a steering system according to the invention in a specific embodiment which are relevant to the invention . according to fig1 a steering system 1 has a steering handle 2 , which is here designed as a steering wheel . the steering handle 2 is used by the driver of the vehicle to input his steering requirements in the form of a rotary actuation of the steering handle 2 . in terms of drive , the steering handle 2 is connected by a steering shaft 3 to a hand - torque actuator 4 , which is here indicated purely symbolically by a frame illustrated by broken lines . in the preferred embodiment , the hand - torque actuator 4 has an electric motor 5 , which has a rotor and a stator . the rotor is connected to the steering shaft 3 , for example , while the stator is firmly connected to the vehicle &# 39 ; s body . another possible embodiment has the stator coupled to the steering shaft 3 while the rotor is fixed to the vehicle . in addition , the hand - torque actuator 4 has a hand - torque control unit that actuates the electric motor 5 as a function of parameters . for the sake of clarity , however , this control unit is not shown here . the electric motor 5 can be designed as a brushless or brush - type motor , for example , which can be either permanently excited or externally excited . the embodiment illustrated here is , for example , a three - phase brushless d . c . motor , which accordingly has three motor windings . the electric motor 5 therefore has three electrical connections 6 a , 6 b , 6 c , which are each connected within the electric motor 5 to one of the windings of the electric motor 5 . the connections 6 a , 6 b , 6 c are connected by corresponding connecting lines 7 a , 7 b , 7 c to inputs 8 a , 8 b , 8 c of a three - pole changeover switch 9 . this changeover switch 9 has first outputs 10 a , 10 b , 10 c , which are connected by connection lines 11 a , 11 b , 11 c to a power supply 12 , e . g . power electronics , of the electric motor 5 . second outputs 13 a , 13 b , 13 c of the changeover element 9 are each connected via electrical resistors 14 a , 14 b , 14 c to a star point 15 and thereby form a star circuit . the changeover element 9 contains switching means 16 that can be actuated synchronously and , in a first position illustrated in fig1 connect the inputs 8 a , 8 b , 8 c to the first outputs 10 a , 10 b , 10 c . in a second position , the switching means 16 connect the inputs 8 a , 8 b , 8 c to the second outputs 13 a , 13 b , 13 c . during steer - by - wire operation of the steering system 1 , the switching means 16 of the changeover switch 9 occupy their first position when the hand - torque actuator 4 is operating correctly . if the hand - torque actuator 4 fails , the switching means 16 of the changeover switch 9 are switched to their second position . the steering system 1 according to the invention operates as follows : in the steer - by - wire mode of the steering system 1 , correct operation of the hand - torque actuator 4 is continuously monitored . as long as a corresponding control system ( not shown here ) for the steering system or the hand - torque actuator 4 detects that the hand - torque actuator 4 is operating correctly , the switching means 16 of the changeover switch 9 are switched to their first position . the connections 6 a , 6 b , 6 c of the electric motor 5 are accordingly connected to the power supply 12 by means of which the actuation of the electric motor 5 is performed in order to simulate steering resistance and / or restoring torques and / or disturbing forces at the steering handle 2 . as soon as a sufficiently serious malfunction is detected in the hand - torque actuator 4 as part of the process of monitoring its operation , this is interpreted as failure of the hand - torque actuator 4 , causing the switching means 16 of the changeover switch 9 to switch to their second position . a corresponding control unit that actuates the changeover switch 9 in a corresponding manner is not shown here . the changeover switch 9 can have a solenoid , for example , which , when energized , switches the switching means 16 to a first position . in this arrangement , spring means can be provided to switch the switching means 16 into a second position when the solenoid is deenergized . if the hand - torque actuator 4 fails , the connections 6 a , 6 b , 6 c of the electric motor 5 are accordingly connected to one another in a star pattern via the electrical resistors 14 a , 14 b , 14 c . since the electric motor 5 is then separated from the power supply 12 , it can operate as a generator . when the driver then introduces a hand torque into the steering handle 2 , this results in an adjusting movement of the steering handle 2 and thus a rotation of the steering shaft 3 . by virtue of the coupling of the electric motor 5 to the steering shaft 3 , an adjusting movement of the steering handle by the driver is then inevitably associated with a relative adjustment between the rotor and the stator of the electric motor 5 . such a relative adjustment between the rotor and the stator induces an electrical voltage in the windings of the electric motor 5 . since the connections 6 a , 6 b , 6 c are connected to one another via the resistors 14 a , 14 b , 14 c , electric currents can form , with the result that damping torques are produced in the electric motor 5 , counteracting a relative adjustment between the rotor and the stator . these damping torques accordingly also act on the steering handle 2 via the steering shaft 3 . the extent of these damping torques can be set to a desired value by appropriate choice of the resistors 14 a , 14 b , 14 c . it is also possible to use variable or adjustable resistors instead of constant resistors 14 a , 14 b , 14 c . it is furthermore possible to combine the resistors 14 a , 14 b , 14 c with other electrical components to form an electrical network . such a network can have active and / or passive , linear and / or non - linear components , thereby allowing the damping of the steering handle 2 to be given a corresponding linear or non - linear , e . g . progressive , configuration . this furthermore makes it possible to take into account additional parameters for the configuration of a desired damping characteristic . the damping effect can , for example , be varied as a function of the vehicle speed and / or as a function of the steering angle . the damping means described above , namely changeover switch 9 and star circuit 14 , 15 , can be integrated in a particularly simple manner into the hand - torque actuator 4 , giving a hand - torque actuator 4 of compact construction with an integral emergency operating function . in addition or as an alternative , the damping means can also have a mechanically operating damper member 17 coupled to the steering handle 2 . in fig1 the damper member 17 is arranged in such a way that it acts on the steering shaft 3 , the damper member 17 being illustrated only symbolically and in broken lines . the damper member 17 can , for example , give rise to mechanical friction on the steering shaft 3 , thereby enabling a certain damping effect to be achieved . such a damper member 17 can also be designed in such a way that a steering actuation of the steering handle 2 drives a fluid in the damper member 17 and , for example , displaces it from a first chamber to a second chamber . a restrictor is arranged in the flow path of the fluid , thereby producing the desired damping effect on the adjusting motion of the steering handle 2 . the foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting . since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art , the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof .