The Use of a Variable-Stability Vehicle in Handling Research

This paper describes the use of the GMR variable stability passenger car in a brief study of driver performance in a maneuvering task. The study was part of a pilot program for evaluation of test methods and equipment for future and more extensive human factors evaluations. Three distinct types of passenger car directional control characteristics were simulated, and each configuration was driven by each of six different drivers through a complex course. The results of the investigation are presented in terms of the average driver performance with each vehicle configuration.