Yannis

Vital car safety system could 'prevent more than 400 deaths'

Some car buyers are being denied a vital safety system which could prevent more than 400 deaths and 3,000 serious injuries a year, it was revealed today.

The system - electronic stability control (ESC) - costs just £50 to manufacture but is available as standard in fewer than 40% of new British cars.

Experts at Thatcham, the Berkshire-based motor insurance research centre, today called on manufacturers to fit the system as standard on all new cars.

ESC works in situations where a driver may be losing control of his vehicle, skidding off the road or spinning on a carriageway.

Sensors feed the nature of the emergency to a computer, which then intervenes by selectively braking individual wheels automatically, which will help the driver control the vehicle.

More than 90% of new cars in Sweden and 60% in Germany have ESC as standard.

Thatcham said just six out of 38 manufacturers fit ESC as standard to their entire range of UK vehicles. They are Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, Porsche, Lexus and Cadillac.

Five manufacturers do not have ESC at all - even as an optional extra. They are Chevrolet, Daihatsu, Lotus, Proton and Suzuki.

Matthew Avery, Thatcham's crash laboratory manager, said: "This is a shocking state of affairs. British motorists, their passengers and other road users deserve the very best. Do manufacturers think that their lives are less valuable?

"This is collision avoidance technology - the data is irrefutable. Pressure must be brought to bear to make ESC as commonplace as ABS (anti-lock braking system) or airbags.

"ESC doesn't just help during a crash like an airbag - it helps prevent the accident happening in the first place."

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The Artist

thank you Mercedes Benz

Yannis

...and Bosch.

BTW does womeone know why BMW is not on that list? I thought all BMWs had ESP.

Just_me

BMW are calling it DSC. and yes all BMw have it, even a 116i have it. they also have a system called ASC+T, little different from DSC


anyway, I remember this discussion in sweden a couple of years ago. it forced Volvo and saab to have it in their cars for free instead that you need to pay extra for it. now its standard.

Mr. M

I'm surprised it just needs £50 to manufacture.

Osnabrueck

Ha! Me too.

There was just too much fancy-schmancy marketing potential in the feature to let it loose for an honest price. Stuff like this makes me extremely cynical about feature-laden premium cars.

Yannis

ABS , traction control , brake assist ect. are all incorporated into the same unit so they probably mean that a unit that has ESP functions costs 50 pounds more than a simpler one who hasn't.

Yannis

Related article about ESP:

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Snake Vargas

Seriously, once you've developed it, it must hardly cost that much in a car that already has ABS, Traction Control and EBD systems and the requisite sensors.

I'm really pissed about companies "de-contenting" - where cars available overseas with more airbags or especially ESP decide that they won't bring them to Australia.

The Golf V used to not have ESP available, option or not. I think outcry made them make it available as a $690 option. The Mazda 3 recently gained $1000 ESP as an option (why so expensive?) across the range, saying it was the first volume selling model in its segment to do so. Guess one or the other of those conditions counted the Golf out, but that's not the point.

I've also emailed Mazda about why they don't offer ESP on the Mazda 6, when it's widely available across the range in Japan, where our 6's come from. They replied with some guff which basically means it's a marketing decision. It's standard on the 6 MPS.

Not ESP, but the Honda Accord Euro has two levels of spec, 'normal' and Luxury. The normal level has 4 airbags - honestly, was that really necessary? Or just to make one more way of differentiating the Luxury model?

Worst of all, the brand new Camry has ESP available - as standard on the AUD$40k Grande specification, and not even as an option elsewhere. How damn cynical is that? I don't care if Toyotas are reliable and not exciting, that's a customer's choice if they want that sort of a car. When you remove from them the choice to have one more safety feature, even as an option, you're committing an act of pure bastardry. It's not like you can even talk about importation and economies of volume - it's a domestically manufactured car. Bring on the disrespect. They deserve it.

Sure, ESP may help in some cases, and may not in others. It's not a silver bullet, a magical life saving device. Additionally, not all versions of ESP are created (or calibrated) equally. But, for the vast majority of drivers, it'll be a valuable option. When it's dry and I'm the only one in the car, it's easy to say it's not that important. When it's dark, wet and you've got three other people and their luggage, talk to me again. At least give us the option where to spend our money, instead of creating false "stratification" in your model lineup.

Rant over.