VEHICLE SKIDDING

SUBMITTED BY:-
UDAY VIR SINGH
RANA(80904114110)
SUPREET SINGH
RANA(80904114106)
SURYADEEP SINGH
VIRK(80904114107)
AKSHAY GARG(80904114119)

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 VEHICLE SKID
CONTROL
1. INTRODUCTION

Vehicle skid can be defined as the loss of

traction between a vehicle’s tyres and the
road surface due to the forces acting on the
vehicle. Most skids are caused by driver
error, although only about 15% of accidents
are the direct result of a vehicle skidding.
Skids occurring in other accidents are
usually the result of last minute action, by
the driver, when faced with a crisis ahead
rather than actually causing an accident.
Skids can occur both in the dry and wet as
well as icy conditions, however, the chances
of losing control and having an accident

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increases by 50% in the wet. The most
common type of skid we will be confronted
with is when the rear end of the car slides
out, causing an oversteer or when the front
of the car plows toward the outside of a turn
without following the curve of the turn
causing an understeer. Usually, oversteer
occurs as a result of going into a corner too
fast or incorrectly hitting a slick area,
causing the rear wheels to oversteer. A third
skid called the four wheel skid can also
occur, where all the four wheels lock up and
the vehicle slides in the direction where the
forward momentum is carrying it, with no
directional control.

To counter these skids and to

prevent accidents from happening, Vehicle

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Skid Control (VSC) is incorporated in the
vehicle. Vehicle Skid Control (VSC) takes the
safety aspects of the driver and the vehicle
to the next level. It comes under the
category of “Passive Technology”, which
helps you to avoid a crash. Vehicle Skid
Control (VSC) senses the onset of traction
loss and helps the driver stay on track. This
is achieved via the system's ability to reduce
engine power and to control the brake
actuator. VSC helps the driver maintain
vehicle traction under demanding conditions
by detecting and helping to correct the
wheel spin. VSC uses a variety of sensor
input to determine if the car is losing
traction, then applies the brakes to
individual wheels to help correct for

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discrepancies. The system will also back off
the throttle to reduce power. VSC integrates
traction control to limit rear wheelspin on
slippery surfaces. The VSC system
electronically monitors speed and direction,
and compares the vehicle's direction of
travel with the driver's steering, acceleration
and braking input. VSC can help the driver
compensate for loss of lateral traction, which
can cause skids and loss of vehicle control.

2. CAUSES

The main causes of skidding are as

follows:

a) Harsh or sudden acceleration.

b) Excessive or sudden braking.
c) Coarse or jerky steering movements.

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d) Oversteer and understeer.

The effects of the above will be

enhanced by speed. Combining these
effects with non-recognition of adverse
road and weather conditions will create
problems for the driver.

3. TYPES OF SKID
The main types of skid that a driver
could encounter on the public highway fall
into three categories.
1) The front wheel skid.
2) The rear wheel skid.
3) The four wheel skid.

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3.1. The Front Wheel Skid

3.1.1.Characteristics
The car tends to take a course
outside of the expected course that the
driver has steered (understeer). If the
front tyre approaches the traction limit
more rapidly, the effect is that the front of
the car takes a wider radius curve than
the driver intended. The car is said to
understeer.

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3.1.2. Cause
Excess speed on entry to a hazard
i.e. a corner or bend, or sudden braking to
reduce the speed when negotiating the
hazard. Both of these actions will have the
effect of destabilising the vehicle making
it more vulnerable to a loss of control.

3.2. The Rear Wheel Skid

3.2.1. Characteristics
The rear of vehicle swings out of
line and gives the impression of trying to
overtake the front (oversteer); see figure
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2. If the rear tyres approach their traction
limit more rapidly than the front, then the
effect is for the rear of the car to steer a
wider path than the front wheels. This
rotates the car more than the driver
intended and, if nothing is done, leads to
the car turning a smaller radius corner.
When this occurs the car is said to
oversteer.

3.2.2. Cause
As with the front wheel skid,
excessive speed into the hazard and
sudden braking or acc-eleration with a
rear wheel drive vehicle, destabilising the
vehicle, are the main causes of this skid.

3.3. The Four Wheel Skid

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3.3.1. Characteristics
All four wheels have locked up and
the vehicle is sliding in the direction that
the forward momentum is carrying it, with
no directional control; see figure 3. Both
front and rear wheel skids, if unchecked
sufficiently early, can develop into four
wheel skids.

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3.3.2. Cause
Harsh or sudden braking has
caused the wheels to lock. A sensation of
increase in the vehicle’s speed often
occurs.

Figure 1

4. UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER

4.1. Understeer

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 As the name implies, understeer
occurs when the front slip angle is greater
than the rear and the car goes straighter
rather than following the intended turn.
The slip angle, or yaw angle in technical
terminology, is the angle between where
the car is pointing and the intended path.
The yaw moment is the rate at which the
yaw angle is changing. The higher the yaw
moment, the more likely it is that the
driver is losing control. At the same point,
the front wheel may start to grip less even
when the steering is turned sharply and as
a result the car continues in more of a
straight line than a sharp turn. Here in this
case, the skid control system brakes the
inside rear wheel, effectively tightening
the car’s line. By applying the brakes, the

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car slows down which further helps
stabilise it.

4.2. Oversteer

Oversteer, on the other hand,

occurs when the rear tyres have a greater
slip angle than the front tyres and the
back threatens to overtake the front,
causing the vehicle to spin. In other words,
if the rear tyres approach their traction
limit more rapidly than the front, then the
effect is for the rear of the car to steer a
wider path than the front wheels. This
rotates the car more than the driver
intended and, if nothing is done, leads to
the car turning a smaller radius corner.
When this occurs the car is said to

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oversteer. Here the skid control system
brakes the outside front wheel to reduce
oversteer, effectively pulling the tail back
into line.

5. SKID CONTROL

Stability control systems or skid control

systems with names like StabiliTrak,
Dynamic Stability Control, Stability
Management, and Vehicle Skid Control are
the latest advancement in vehicle safety.
Regardless of the different names, they all
perform the same task – to sense the
onset of traction loss and keep the driver
on track. These systems are designed to
deliver transparent intervention the
moment the situation becomes unstable.
A vehicle skid control system actually

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detects when a driver has lost some
degree of control. It then automatically
stabilizes the vehicle to help the driver
regain control. Vehicle Skid Control (VSC)
takes the safety aspects of the driver and
the vehicle to a completely new level.
These skid control systems are often
integrated with the engine management
system to cut power in even more tricky
situations. This scenario is a complex
system of sensors and microprocessors
that continually monitor the vehicle for
any signs of instability. Once detected
(usually in the form of a slide or skid), the
system automatically applies selective
braking to specific wheels thereby
stabilizing the vehicle. This split-second
intervention often happens so quickly that

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it is over before drivers even realize they
were in danger of losing control. By gently
stabilizing the car at the critical moment,
control is returned to the driver with
minimal fuss and alarm. Luxury cars, such
as the Mercedes Benzes, BMW, Lexus, etc.
now sold in India, have stability systems
installed that are designed to remove
oversteer or understeer.

6. COMPONENTS

The Vehicle Skid Control (VSC) is made

possible by the combination of different
electronic and mechanical components.
Some of the components are those used in
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), and an
electronically controlled engine throttle, as
well as a dedicated computer and sensors,

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providing information to the VSC system.
These include:

Figure 2

• Yaw rate sensor.

• G-sensor.
• Steering angle sensor.
• Electronic throttle control.
• Slip indicator.
• Computer.
•
Yaw rate sensors detect changes in the
car's rotation in a left or right direction. It
keeps track of the direction in which the

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car is moving relative to which way the
driver is

turning the steering wheel. When the

sensors detect understeer or oversteer, a
computer takes over and applies brakes or
controls power to one or both the drive
wheels, so that the car comes under
control.

The system is programmed to respond

to a wide variety of scenarios and is so
selective that it can apply only the brake
on one specific wheel if that's what is
needed to regain control. The G-sensor or
gravity sensor determines if the car is
accelerating or decelerating, cornering

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and braking forces simultaneously while
the car is on the move and accordingly
controls the throttle. Steering angle sensor
evaluates the direction and rate of change
in steering wheel movement. Electronic
throttle control reduces the throttle for
1/7th of a second, to control the wheel
spin, when the front or rear wheels lose
traction. Slip indicator alerts the driver
that the tyres are about to exceed the grip
limit. The central processing computer
monitors the steering movement together
with either taking over and applying
brakes or controlling the power to one or
both the drive wheels.
7. WORKING

The heart of all these systems is a

central processor that takes information

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from a number of sensors, and then
determines whether the car is in a stable
or unstable state. By combining the datas
from ABS sensors (for wheel speed),
steering angle sensors, yaw sensors
(measuring the amount a car fishtails, or
rotates around its vertical center axis),
and lateral force sensors (measuring the
amount of sideways g-force generated by
the car), the central processing unit can
actually detect when a vehicle is behaving
in a way contrary to how the driver
intends. VSC also includes a slip indicator
with a warning sound and light to alert the
driver that the tyres are about to exceed
the grip limit.

If the processor does detect instability

such as a slide produced by a sudden

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swerve, it automatically applies light
brake pressure to a select wheel (or
wheels) to maintain or restore control.
Here, the VSC computer uses engine
throttle control and individual wheel
braking to help counteract skidding and
spinning.The high-speed computer
constantly compares the driver's
intentions, as indicated by steering wheel,
throttle and braking activity, with the car's
actual motions measured by the various
sensors. If they do not correlate, the VSC
computer selectively applies individual
wheel brakes and/or momentarily reduces
engine power as necessary to help the
driver regain the intended direction of
travel. For example, if the car were
tending to continue straight rather than

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responding to the driver's right turn of the
steering wheel, VSC would typically
reduce engine power and would apply the
right front brake momentarily to help the
car follow the intended path. Once proper
vehicle attitude is restored, VSC returns to
a standby state. When VSC is active, a
warning beep tone and instrument panel
warning light indicate that the system is
functioning. In many cases, VSC reacts
well before the driver is aware of a loss of
lateral traction. A VSC shutoff button
deactivates VSC and electronic traction
control for use. At all other times,VSC
remains on and functioning. VSC differs
from Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
technology. ABS prevents vehicle wheels

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from locking, decreases the distance
required to stop and improves a driver's

control during emergency braking on

wet and slippery roads whereas VSC is
intended to help a driver maintain the
intended direction of travel, even when
the brakes are not applied. However, VSC
and ABS compliment and work in close
coordination with each other in stability
control system, providing enhanced driver
control in a broad range of situations.VSC
can help provide a measure of control in
real-world situations faced by even the
most careful and experienced drivers. VSC
senses the onset of traction loss and helps
the driver stay on track. This is achieved

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via the system's ability to reduce engine
power and to control the brake actuator.

8. WHEN DOES IT HELP?

Like the safety systems that preceded

it, Vehicle Skid Control is designed to step
in when human input is incapable of
effectively controlling the vehicle. In most
cases, critical situations are the result of
human error in the first place-driving too
quickly, inattention, misjudgment or
simply panicking in an emergency
situation. In these situations, everyone
can benefit from a safety system that
occasionally helps regain vehicle stability,
while never taking full control out of the
driver's hands.

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 After the introduction of
ABS, no safety advancement has added
such a high level of driving security as
VSC. When used with ABS and traction
control, Vehicle Skid Control significantly
increases a driver's chances of recovering
from potentially dangerous situations. But
no matter how advanced the safety aid,
the ultimate fate of a vehicle and its
occupants remains in the hands of the
driver. No safety system should ever be
expected to protect unconditionally. So
while the latest generation of stability
control systems offer drivers increased
protection from both themselves and the
unexpected, they can never overcome
poor judgement or the laws of physics.

9. REMEDIAL MEASURES

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 In each case, the cause can be
removed by taking the foot off the
accelerator or brake and depressing the
clutch. The reasons are as follows:-

• By decelerating, the vehicle’s speed is

lowered, which in turn will start to
reduce the magnitude of the skid.
• Relaxation of the pressure on the brake
pedal will unlock the wheels and allow
the tyres to regain traction, enabling the
vehicle to be steered.
• Depressing the clutch pedal has 3
beneficial effects:

(i) The engine will not stall, enabling

the vehicle to be moved quickly from
the danger area.

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 (ii) The link between engine (providing
power) and transmission is broken;
there is no drive to any of the wheels,
therefore the vehicle is no longer a
front, rear or four wheel drive model.

(iii) A very slippery surface can cause

the drive to lock up which in turn
causes the wheels to lock, keeping
the vehicle in a skid situation.

10. ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES

10.1. Advantages

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1) Monitors each wheel independently
maximizing the performance of the car.
2) Increases comfort, both physical and
psychological.
3) Improves safety aspects of the car and the
driver.
4) Helps save money long term.
5) Enhances the ability to dodge a
renegade object in its pathways.

10.2. Disadvantages

1) High initial costs.

2) Overdependence.
3) Not perfect.
4) Repairing cost may be high.
5) 11. CONCLUSION

Driving has become more and more

dangerous with the ever increasing

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population of man and vehicles. It is
estimated that 25% of all accidents are
caused by driver distractions. Automotive
technology is being developed everyday
to make our lives on the roads much safer.
Vehicle Skid Control is one such instance.
Safety is the principal benefit of this
technology.

But no matter how advanced

the safety aid, we should never forget that
the ultimate fate of a vehicle and its
occupants remains in the hands of the
driver. No safety system should ever be
expected to protect unconditionally. So
while the latest generation of stability
control systems offer drivers increased
protection for both themselves and the

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vehicle, they can never overcome poor
judgment or the laws of physics.

When we drive, it not only

affects our safety but the safety of
everyone around us whether driving or
not. With increasing development in the
field of automobiles, it is only imperative
that we go for vehicles that have these
technologies installed in them. Vehicle
Skid Control would not, in anyway,
eliminate all road accidents; however it
would lower the percentage of crashes
thereby lowering the number of fatalities.

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