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June 16, 2006
IIHS, UMTRI DATA GIVE ESC A FURTHER BOOST
Electronic stability control (ESC) helps drivers retain control of their vehicles during high-speed maneuvers or on slippery roads. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety researchers have announced findings that ESC reduces the risk of fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by 32 percent, and all single-vehicle crashes by more than 40 percent fatal ones by 56 percent. The researchers estimate that if all vehicles were equipped with ESC, as many as 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided each year.
ESC is standard on 40 percent of 2006 passenger vehicle models and optional on another 15 percent, IIHS said. The percentage of SUV models with standard ESC has been growing faster than for cars. As a stand-alone option, ESC costs from about $300 to $800, but it can cost more than $2,000 on some models when packaged with other equipment, the research group said. It warned consumers of a confusing hodgepodge of terms used by various companies to describe the system.
Meanwhile, a study submitted to NHTSA by University of Michigan Transportation Research investigators has further corroborated the benefits of Electronic Stability Control systems in reducing rollovers. The study used data from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System.
The FARS data indicated that a 30.5% reduction in the odds of a single-vehicle crash was estimated for passenger cars equipped with ESC, and a 49.5% reduction was estimated for sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The estimated percentage reductions in the odds of rollover for passenger cars and SUVs equipped with ESC were 39.7% and 72.9%, respectively. However, it found no significant effects were found on roads that were not dry.
Based on the GES data, no significant differences due to ESC were found between males and females, but middle-aged drivers of passenger cars and older drivers of SUVs tended to benefit most from the presence of ESC. Unlike the FARS data analysis, percentage reductions in the odds of loss of control were significantly greater on roads that were not dry for both passenger cars and SUVs equipped with ESC. In an analysis using GES data of vehicles with different makes and models, but similar model years, estimated percentage reductions in the odds of loss of control crashes were 40.3% for passenger cars and 71.5% for SUVs.
A list of all vehicles with ESC in the 2006 and 2005 model year is available at http://www.safercar.gov/pages/ESC-EquippedVehicles-2006.html.
Posted by MVHAP at June 16, 2006 12:33 PM