TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Methods: The function is a polynomial function of degree greater than or equal to 2 of the length. The function is defined by Equation (A) as given in the image.A-C=fit coefficients related to a structure of the tire.The function is Fz=(A1)tan(B1PLc).A1, B1=fit coefficients related to structure of tire.The step of estimating the length comprises acquiring an acceleration signal. The load determination method further comprises a step of low-pass filtering the acceleration signal. The step of estimating the length comprises measuring a distance between a maximum value and a minimum value of a tangential acceleration signal. The step of acquiring the acceleration signal comprises acquiring a radial acceleration signal. The step of estimating the length comprises measuring a distance between two maxima of said radial acceleration signal. Preferred Components: The vehicle control system comprises a brake control system. It has a steering control system, a suspension control system, and an active roll control system. The measuring device comprises a tangential or a radial accelerometer producing a corresponding acceleration signal. It comprises a sampling device adapted to sample the signal at greater than or equal to 5, preferably greater than or equal to 7 kHz. The A system further comprises memory associated to the processing unit. The memory comprises pre-stored characteristic functions describing vertical tire loads versus contact region lengths. It has pre-stored instructions for the processing unit. The measuring device is included in a sensor device located in a tread area portion of the tire. The sensor device is secured to an inner liner of the tire. The system further comprises a damping element between the sensor and the inner liner. The sensor device further includes a transmitting device operatively connected to a first antenna. The system further comprises a filtering device adapted for low-pass filtering the signals. The sensor further comprises a power source having a self-powering device, being adapted to generate electrical power as a result of mechanical stresses undergone by said sensor device during running of the vehicle.