http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/06/09/iihs_esc/index.html

Insurance group's report finds that stability systems could prevent one third of fatal wrecks if standardized.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that crash deaths on American roads could be reduced by one third if all vehicles were equipped with the Electronic Stability Control.

About 34,000 people are killed in auto crashes in the United States each year.

A comparison of rates of fatal crashes for vehicles that were identical except for the inclusion of electronic stability control, the Institute said, reveals that the vehicles with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) were 43 percent less likely to be involved in a fatal crash.
If all vehicles were equipped with the technology, instead of the current 25 percent, the Institute estimates that as many as 10,000 fatal accidents could be prevented each year.
The study bolsters earlier research by the Institute, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and others supporting the effectiveness of ESC.

ESC relies on two other underlying technologies: anti-lock brakes and electronic traction control. Anti-lock brakes use sensors to detect when a car's wheels are about to lose traction under hard braking. The system then pumps the brakes at an extremely rapid rate, allowing the wheels to regain traction so that the car stays in control and can be steered effectively.
Electronic traction control uses similar sensors to detect when a car's wheels are spinning out of control under hard acceleration. The system automatically reduces power from the engine until the wheels regain traction.

ESC uses a variety of sensors to detect when a car is skidding, or is about to skid, because of hard cornering and slippery road conditions. The system will rapidly apply the brakes for fractions of a second at individual wheels and simultaneously reduce engine speed to keep the vehicle under control. Such systems can often react even before the driver is aware that there is a problem.
"The findings indicate that ESC should be standard on all vehicles," Susan Ferguson, the Institute's senior vice president for research, said in an announcement. "Very few safety technologies show this kind of effect in reducing crash deaths."
The Insurance Institute released a study showing similar results last year, but now that more vehicles on the road have ESC, researchers were able to include more vehicles in the study to provide more detailed results.

(Click link for more of the article).

 

Oh the drifters are going to hate this...hehehe

 

Of course, better driver training would save a lot more lives as well. It annoys the living daylights out of me when people try and use invasive technology to fix what is essentially a SOCIAL PROBLEM. People need to learn how to drive properly! I can't count the number of time i've passed some minivan or SUV that was weaving and going slow in the left lane to find the "driver" doing everything else but driving! You know the kind: slurping on a latte, talking on the cell phone, combing hair, brushing teeth, reading a book, and eating a sandwich. . . AT THE SAME TIME. GRRRR!

Yes, I like having ESP and traction control. . . AS OPTIONS . . . They shouldn't be mandatory like airbags (which I won't get started on in this thread).

I hate to say this, but if the IIHS had it's way, we would all be driving around at 20 mph in rubber-coated computer driven, safety capsules while wearing full-body protection suits, flame-retardant underwear, and crash helmets.

Fix the real problem, not the symptom.


</rant>

 

On HGTV last night was a show on concept cars. One Lexus vehicle can parallel park automatically. I thought, "Perhaps, instead of making the car do this, people should just LEARN HOW to do it."

 

If it saves 10k from dieing and many more injuries, then it has solved some of the problem and not just a symptom...as a person who works in emergency medicine, less dead and injured is a good thing, especially for the kids of the idiots you have mentioned...and if this prevents someone crashing into me or my family then I can live with it...

 

Rabid,
I think you missed my point... The vehicle licensing requirements in this country (USA) are a joke. The reason there are so many accidents, especially single-vehicle accidents is that your average motorist doesn't understand how to drive a vehicle properly much less any of the basic physical principles involved in vehicle handling and dynamics.
So, rather than doing the right thing, which would be to cause drivers (through stricter licensing requirements) to have a better understanding of the vehicle they're driving, the government mandates more and more advanced safety systems. So what's basically going on is that we're transferring the "smarts" from the driver to the car. Don't get me wrong, these advanced systems are wonderful (seen Volvo's automatic braking system?), but as a result, we are increasingly becoming reliant on technology which we don't understand and in some cases, have no control over. Before long, we shall become the payload rather than the driver. I don't know about you, but I find that kind of scary.
To me the best safety system out there is an attentive, well trained driver. All that other stuff is icing on the cake.

 

Well at least we agree on our Crossfire year, transmission and color...

I'm a big proponent of safety equipment because I've seen it work so often, From padded dashes, seat belts, crumple zones, traction control and yes even air bags when used properly. I agree there would be less need for this equipment if people weren't driving insane, but you can't stop human nature sometimes. The amount of life saved and the savings of Billions of dollars in medical expenses make it worth to me...

Cheers
Mark

 

Mark,
We actually agree on a whole lot. All that advanced safety stuff has saved my assets on two different occasions, both of which were caused by the other guy not paying attention to what he was doing, so I have a little bit of emotional baggage when we get on this subject. I was glad to have the side protection beams & airbags. I just wish Uncle Sam wouldn't tell me I had to have them. I also wish people would learn how to drive their cars properly rather than rely on technology to do it for them.

A side note about the airbags: They are a beautiful thing. We (the USA) kind of blew it in the implementation. When they were first mandated, DOT specified the bags had to protect any unrestrained adult in a collision. In order to do that, the bag had to deploy with such force that it would kill you if you sat too close to it. Kind of ironic in my mind...

 

blah... stability technology won't help... the people that need it, will become even less involved in their driving and expect the car to recover from anything and everything making them even worse drivers... the people that don't need it, won't buy it and will continue to use skill to drive their car rather than use technology as a crutch... that's why i can't wait to have a garage so i can get a older car to work on (240sx... gawd the interior is ugly... but i like the number of parts available for it)...