Abstract. Vehicle handling and control is an essential aspect of intelligent driver assistance systems, a building block of the upcoming generation of "smart cars". A car's handling is affected by (i) technological (engine, suspension, brakes, tires, wheels, steering, etc.), (ii) environmental (road condition, weather, traffic, etc.), and (iii) human (attentiveness, reactiveness, driver agility, etc.) factors, and their mutual interrelationship. In this paper we investigate on how a driver's endeavor for precise steering interferes with lateral acceleration while cornering. Depending on the steering ratio and the cruising speed, we identify that the readiness of a driver to compensate lateral forces exhibits counterintuitive characteristics. A driver body posture recognition technique based on a high resolution pressure sensor integrated invisibly and unobtrusively into the fabric of the driver seat has been developed. Sensor data, collected by two 32x32 pressure se...