I'm quite surprised to see an independent testing organisation banging the drum about this. Not knowing any better I presume it's good - it certainly sounds like a sensible idea.
"Recent evidence shows that Stability Control can dramatically reduce the chances of being involved in certain types of accident. Stability Control electronically senses when a driver is about to lose control by detecting differences between a carâs course and the driverâs intended direction. By selectively applying the brakes to individual wheels, Stability Control helps the driver to maintain control of the car and to steer safely. This can make the difference between an accident and a near-miss.
Lib Dem's plans to tax motorists 641On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:08:59 +0100, Steve Firth was popularly supposed to have said: Some of the slightly more radical tax plans I have seen have the right sort of idea...
The statistics are compelling. Several studies have now shown that cars fitted with Stability Control are significantly less likely to be involved in accidents than those that are not.
Euro NCAP strongly recommends that consumers buy cars fitted with Stability Control."
"How effective is Stability Control?
Very effective. Several studies have now shown that cars which are fitted with a Stability Control system are involved in significantly fewer accidents than those which are not.
In 2003, a Swedish study1 showed that cars fitted with Stability Control were 22 percent less likely to be involved in accidents than those without. Looking only at accidents in wet conditions, the benefits were even greater: around 32 percent. In Japan , Stability Control was shown2 to reduce involvement in accidents by some 30 to 35 percent. In Germany , one study3 suggested a similar reduction while another4 indicated a reduction in ãloss-of-controlä crashes (ones where there is no influence of other road-users) from 21 percent to 12 percent.
In other words, estimates vary as to the extent of the benefit. However, all of the findings indicate that Stability Control significantly reduces the risk of being in an accident.
1 Tingvall C et al, The effectiveness of ESP (Electronic Stability Program) in reducing real-life accidents. ESV Paper 261, 18 th ESV Conference, Nagoya , 2003
2 Aga M and Okada A, Analysis of Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)âs effectiveness from crash data. ESV Paper 541, 18 th ESV Conference, Nagoya , 2003
3 Breuer J, ESP safety benefits Daimler Chrysler press presentation, Sindelfingen , 2002
4 Unselt T et al Avoidance of ãloss of control crashesä through the benefit of ESP FISIA Conference paper no. F2004V295, Barcelona , 2004."
