"Side track" ... loving the pun. Also interesting the subliminal way you drop italic emphasis in.
The point of the diversion was lateral g. Rightly or wrongly people use the term sideslip both in terms of turn coordination and in terms of a constant sideways velocity. The first is indicated by an accelerometer the other is much harder to derive.
The distance measurement is still a question of interest as it is pertinent to your "g" calculation.