Electronic Stability Control: Safety Feature Proposal by NHTSA
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently proposed that all vehicles include an electronic stability control (ESC) feature. ESC is the generic term for systems designed to improve a vehicle’s handling, particularly at limits where the driver is more likely to lose control of the vehicle. It uses brakes and engine power to keep a vehicle from veering out of control.
According to studies by the National Institute for Highway Safety, fatalities would be reduced by 50% in single vehicle crashes and all crashes by more than one-third. The leading public health issue for teenagers is car crashes, since teens account for a disproportionate number of automobile crashes. Teenage drivers are involved in more single car crashes for a number of reasons, most often because they drive fast, they are more easily distracted, and they don’t use safety belts as frequently as older drivers.NHTSA expects that, if adopted, the electronic stability control feature would become as revolutionary in vehicle crash safety as seat belts. Although seat belts protect when an accident happens, ESC prevents many accidents from happening.
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