Welcome to the first lecture which deals with Lateral Dynamics of vehicles. This lecture deals with the description of the lateral characteristics of tires. The first section describes the structural and constructional aspects of tires. A further sections deals with the effects of friction and the various influences which affect traction. Thi is followed by the characteristics of froce transfer of a tire subjected to side slip angles. The chapter ends with a short description of the dynamic behaviour of tires subjected to side slip angles.