Abstract
Each driver has own driving style such as grasping pattern of steering wheel, bodily characteristics and driving position. Thus, handling feelings vary from driving style even if it is the same steering system. In this study, aiming at improvement of handling feeling, we examined the influence of driver's grasping characteristics on the handling feeling by measuring driver's steering behavior and grasping pressure distribution. As the results examined by various cross-sectional grips, in the case of better subjective evaluation, the grasping pressure was lower, the pressure change was smaller, and the range where pressure applied on was partially concentrated on the grip. Meanwhile, the difference in surface hardness of grip greatly affected on the pressure distribution of a palm when steering wheel was operated. Therefore, it was suggested that the grasping pressure distribution was deeply related to handling feeling and could be the objective evaluation index for the handling feeling.
