steering coupler

i see this is a very old thread...but does anyone know, what the purpose of the steering coupler is (other than connecting the steer gear to the steering wheel) ? Is there some kind of break away in there so if you get in a wreck it doesn't break your arm if you hand gets caught in the spokes of the steering wheel? I am thinking about changing to a borgeson, but i would like to understand its purpose first. I have hooker headers and the guy i bought it from took a grinder to the original coupler to make clearance, and now the dust gasket shield doesn't stay on any more.