Effectiveness
Numerous studies around the world confirm that ESC is highly effective in helping the driver maintain control of the car, thereby saving lives and reducing the severity of crashes. In the fall of 2004 in the U.S., the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the international studies, releasing results of a field study in the U.S. of ESC effectiveness. The NHTSA in United States concluded that ESC reduces crashes by 35%. Additionally, Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) with stability control are involved in 67% fewer accidents than SUVs without the system. The United States Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) issued its own study in June 2006 showing that up to 10,000 fatal US crashes could be avoided annually if all vehicles were equipped with ESC The IIHS study concluded that ESC reduces the likelihood of all fatal crashes by 43%, fatal single-vehicle crashes by 56%, and fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 77–80%.
ESC is described as the most important advance in auto safety by many experts. including Nicole Nason, Administrator of the NHTSA, Jim Guest and David Champion of Consumers Union of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), E-Safety Aware, Csaba Csere, editor of Car and Driver, and Jim Gill, long time ESC proponent of Continental Automotive Systems The European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) "strongly recommends" that people buy cars fitted with stability control.
The IIHS requires that a vehicle must have ESC as an available option in order for it to qualify for their Top Safety Pick award for occupant protection and accident avoidance.
Read more about this topic: Electronic Stability Control