In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created its Light Vehicle Handling and electronic stability control (ESC) research program. When first conceived, this program emphasized the development of test maneuvers and analysis methods capable of objectively quantifying handling. At the time, it was envisioned the publication of such results would complement the Agency’s NCAP dynamic rollover resistance ratings, thereby allowing consumers to better understand the potential tradeoffs between dynamic rollover stability and good handling.

However, as the 2004 testing proceeded, the Agency’s vision of quantifying handling was replaced by the desire to research the safety benefits of ESC. One of the primary objectives of this refocused effort was to develop a way to objectively assess ESC effectiveness on the test track.

The research discussed in this paper examined the ESC effectiveness of five vehicles using twelve maneuvers. Maneuvers are described and their ability to satisfy three ESC effectiveness criteria is discussed. Maneuvers utilized automated and driverbased steering inputs. If driver-based steering was required, multiple drivers were used to assess input variability. To quantify the effects of ESC on handling test outcome, each vehicle was evaluated with ESC enabled and disabled.