Title: Crash involvement risks of cars with electronic stability control systems in Great Britain

Authors: Pete Thomas

Addresses: Vehicle Safety Research Centre, Loughborough University, Holywell Building, Holywell Way, Loughborough LE11 3UZ, UK

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the real-world reduction in crash involvement of cars fitted with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems. The Great Britain national casualty database, STATS19, has been enhanced with details of the equipment fitted resulting in a group of 8951 cars with stability control being available for analysis. The results show that ESC effectiveness in crashes involving these vehicles is 3% in crashes of all severity outcomes. Fatal and serious injury crashes combined are 19% lower compared to non-ESC equipped cars but this reflects the combined effect of ESC and passive safety improvements. There are very large reductions in crashes occurring in wet (34%) or icy (53%) conditions. The reduction in side impacts was greater than frontal impacts, although the difference was non-significant. There was a significant variation in effectiveness with class of car with Superminis showing a 47% relative decrease in crash involvement and large off-road cars showing a 24% increase.

Keywords: electronic stability control; ESC; crash avoidance; active safety; vehicle safety; GB; Great Britain; vehicle accidents; loss of control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2006.011229

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2006 Vol.1 No.4, pp.267 - 281

Published online: 06 Nov 2006 *

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