Stability criteria of driver–vehicle system and objective evaluation of vehicle handling performance

The stability of a driver–vehicle system is analysed theoretically for lane change and straight running against crosswind, assuming a linear preview control of driver's steering manoeuvre. In order to evaluate objectively the handling performance of this typical driving, the quadratic forms of state variables as task performance and driver's work load are proposed, and their validity is confirmed by simulations on the steering property of current vehicles.