ESP, ACTIVELY PREVENTING ACCIDENTS, BECOMES MANDATORY
New research has found that vehicles equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as it is usually called on cars, or ESP as it is named on heavier vehicles like buses are 25% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident than those without it. If every vehicle on the road were fitted with ESC, this would equate to approximately 380 fewer fatal accidents each year in the UK alone.
The research concluded that ESC was especially effective in helping to prevent crashes that involved a vehicle skidding or overturning, with the potential to reduce serious accidents like this by up to 59%. As well as this, it concluded that ESC could offer additional benefits in adverse road conditions such as wet or snowy weather. ESC is a computer-controlled technology which automatically controls the vehicle by comparing the driver's steering and braking actions to what is actually happening. On-board sensors measure the speed, steering wheel angle, direction of travel and lateral acceleration of the vehicle. If the calculated path of travel is different to that dictated by the sensors it will make a correction by applying individual brakes to correct the deviation. Studies from various countries have already shown it to be very effective at reducing accidents, but this is the first study to specifically analyse UK roads. Loughborough University Vehicle Safety Research Centre (VSRC) in the UK was commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to carry out a statistical study of UK national injury accident data to ascertain whether there is any difference in crash involvement between vehicles with and without ESC systems. The European Commission (EC) has stated that in line with the CARS 21 programme (Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st Century) it is preparing for the obligatory installation of ESC into new passenger cars, via international harmonisation, and forecasts that all new cars will be fitted with ESC by 2012.
For buses ESP will be mandatory from 2010 onwards.
