Real-world assessment of relative crash involvement rates of cars equipped with electronic stability control

Thomas, Pete; Frampton, Richard

This report has evaluated the reduction in crash involvement of cars equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems. The evaluation has been conducted for all crashes as well as for a variety of road and loss of control conditions. In addition, a study of ESC benefits in terms of crash costs and accidents prevented has been undertaken. The results show that ESC effectiveness is 3% in crashes of all severity. Serious crashes are 19% lower compared to non-ESC cars and fatalities 15% lower. The potential annual savings in accident costs for a 100% take up of ESC amounts to 588 million pounds by preventing some 5212 crashes. Overall, ESC has shown worthwhile reductions in both accident frequency and cost across a wide variety of crash situations.

Year

Entry

2003

Aga M, Okada A. Analysis of vehicle stability control (VSC)'s effectiveness from accident data. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.

1986

Evans L. Double pair comparison: a new method to determine how occupant characteristics affect fatality risk in traffic crashes. Accid Anal Prev. June 1986;18(3):217-227.

2005

Kreiss J-P, Schüler L, Langwieder K. The effectiveness of primary safety features in passenger cars in Germany. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 6-9, 2005; Washington, DC.

2003

Langwieder K, Gwehenberger J, Hummel T, Bende J. Benefit potential of ESP in real accident situations involving cars and trucks. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.

2001

Sferco R, Page Y, Le Coz J-Y, Fay PA. Potential effectiveness of electronic stability programs (ESP): what European field studies tell us. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 4-7, 2001; Amsterdam, The Netherlands.