Euro NCAP: Poor Results From Electronic Stability Control Fitment Survey In The EU

We know it as ESP, ESC, DSC, DCS etc. We also know that Electronic Stability Control can turn potentially serious accidents into near misses and could reduce accident occurrence. Unfortunately though, according to a pan-European survey from Euro NCAP, there are huge differences in the extent to which ESC is offered as standard equipment to car-buyers across Europe. The EU wide survey places the UK, Netherlands, Greece, Malta and Ireland bottom of a country ranking with Denmark, Sweden and Germany topping the list in ESC fitment. -Continued after the Jump The results were released today. Tuesday, May 8, in association with the launch of the new ‘Choose ESC’ Campaign, led by eSafetyAware! and under the patronage of the European Commission, with the goal of raising awareness of ESC.
In presenting the results, Euro NCAP’s Secretary General Adrian Hobbs said ‘We must all do what we can to raise awareness of ESC’s importance. Car manufacturers respond to the demands of customers but customers will only demand ESC when they become aware of the benefits. The media and organisations such as fleet buyers can play a pivotal role in increasing this awareness and in helping to bring pressure to bear on manufacturers and distributors to fit ESC as standard on all new cars, in all countries.’
Basically, the problem is focused mainly in the A (mini) and B (supermini) categories, and less in the C (lower-medium) and D (medium) segments. We totally agree with Euro NCAP that ESC should be fitted as standard in all cars, even if that means a surcharge of around €500 to 800 to the base price. If you ask us, we believe that like ABS, ESC will be standard in nearly every car sold in the EU in a few years. However, Euro NCAP should also concentrate on finding a way to assess vehicle driving dynamics, because ESC by itself is not a panacea in every case. Try out a Chevrolet/Daewoo Lanos with ESC and a Ford Focus without ESC and you’ll see what we mean.