U.S. to require car stability control

[saigonsmuggler]

U.S. to require car stability control
Federal agency proposal is expected
September 11, 2006
JAYNE O'DONNELL
USA TODAY

Federal officials this week are expected to propose requiring that all vehicles have stability-control systems to reduce the risk of rollovers and other crashes.

More than 10,000 lives could be saved each year when the systems, which use brakes and engine power to keep a car from veering out of the driver's control, are on all vehicles, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That would make it the most life-saving safety device since the seat belt.

When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's proposed rule becomes final, it would likely be at least three years before stability control would be on all new vehicles. It is available on more than half of new vehicles sold but can cost up to $900 as a stand-alone option.

NHTSA typically lets automakers decide on the technology they use to meet the agency's rules. But studies have been so convincing about stability control's ability to dramatically reduce crashes that Congress ordered NHTSA to require it. Comments on the proposal will be taken for 60 days, and a final rule will likely be issued early next year.

Automakers aren't expected to oppose the requirement. But those that currently have fewer models with stability control likely will argue for a lengthy phase-in period.

Bill Kozyra, CEO of Continental Teves, a supplier of stability-control systems, says one of the benefits is that it doesn't require drivers to do anything other than what they'd typically do in an emergency -- steer. The system kicks in when the vehicle isn't heading where the driver intended and helps bring it back under the driver's control.

"You don't know it's really there helping you until something happens," says Andy Brown of supplier Delphi. "Then you see the merits."

IIHS estimates that if all vehicles had stability control, the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes would be reduced by 56% and the overall risk of single-vehicle crashes would be cut by 40%.

The proposed rule comes about two decades after engineers began testing stability control. The effort was slowed about 10 years ago because of questions about the benefits of anti-lock brakes (ABS), the backbone of stability control.

The ABS problem ultimately was linked to misuse by drivers who needed to be taught not to pump anti-lock brakes as they would conventional brakes but to "stomp and steer."

NHTSA never required ABS, but more than 80% of new vehicles have it as standard equipment. It is also needed for technology such as traction control and automatically adjusting cruise control.

[saigonsmuggler]

The one car safety feature you need now
By Lawrence Ulrich, Money Magazine

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) - You're cruising along, maybe too relaxed, and it happens: A patch of ice, an unexpected puddle, whatever, and the car fishtails. Your heart jumps to your throat, and now you're fighting the wheel, trying to avert a potentially deadly spinout.

What if there were a way to dramatically rewrite that scene? The vehicle hits the ice, a dashboard light flickers and, before you even have time to react, you're back on course and in full control. With an electronic stability-control (ESC) system, you can do exactly that -- avoid spinouts, prevent rollovers, save your neck and even your life.

SUV buyers, especially those who live in foul-weather climes, should consider stability control a must-have. But any driver, in any weather, in any type of car or truck, will be safer with this technology in his or her corner.

Why you need it
From its first appearance in Mercedes, Cadillacs and Corvettes around 1997, stability control has shown great promise in preventing the skids, spins and rollovers that lead to thousands of injuries and deaths every year. But until recently, no hard data were available to prove it.

Now two studies from Europe and Japan -- where consumers have more widely embraced the systems -- confirm what I've long believed: that stability control may be second only to seat belts in safeguarding drivers and passengers.

Stabilitrak comes standard on the Chevrolet Corvette. SUVs need it even more.
Toyota found that electronic stability control reduced single-vehicle crashes in Japan by a remarkable 35 percent and head-on crashes by 30 percent. And in the European study, Mercedes-Benz, whose lineup has sported ESC as a standard feature since 1999, reported a 29 percent drop in single-vehicle accidents; crashes of all types fell 15 percent.

Those kinds of results could prevent as many as 6,000 of the nearly 43,000 crash-related deaths each year in the U.S. -- dramatically more than air bags, which have saved about 800 lives annually since 1987, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

How it works
In ESC systems, which evolved from anti-lock brakes, sensors monitor everything from steering-wheel position and tire speed to the centrifugal forces your vehicle undergoes while cornering. If the sensors detect that a driver is about to lose control, microprocessors automatically apply individual brakes and/or reduce engine power.

Don't confuse ESC with primitive "traction control" systems, which can only stop wheels from spinning. ESC is vastly more sophisticated, able to correct your course with microchip speed and put you back in full control.

Don't expect the system to rewrite the laws of physics -- it won't let you make a turn at 80 mph that's designed for 35. But the technology works consistently and reliably. And unlike air bags, which minimize injuries only after the fact, ESC is pre-emptive -- an electronic guardian angel that steps in to avert potential disaster.

"The safest accident is one that doesn't happen," says Jim Khoury, manager of advanced development for General Motors, which offers its ESC system, Stabilitrak, on more than a dozen models.

A no-brainer for SUVs
A common misconception among SUV owners is that four-wheel drive covers all the safety bases in foul weather. The truth is, four-wheel drive boosts traction during a straight-line acceleration, but when you're turning or stopping, it does almost nothing to improve stability or safety.

That's why manufacturers and safety groups see ESC as the perfect prescription for SUVs, whose tippy stances and tricky handling in emergencies make them prone to rollovers, often with fatal results. More than 60 percent of all SUV deaths are caused by rollovers, compared with just 24 percent of deaths in passenger cars.

All told, rollovers account for just 3 percent of all accidents but nearly 25 percent of all crash fatalities, or roughly 11,000 deaths last year. And nine in 10 rollovers occur when a driver can't keep the vehicle on the road, exactly the situation in which ESC excels.

In the latest ESC development, SUVs from Ford and other automakers have added an extra sensor to recognize impending rollovers and deploy side-curtain air bags before the vehicle flips. Volvo's XC90, the first SUV from Ford's Swedish subsidiary, can actually pre-empt the rollover by braking individual wheels to keep the vehicle right-side up; ditto for Lincoln's Navigator and Aviator.

Leading safety advocates believe ESC systems will decrease the rollover risk posed by SUVs. Brian O'Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, wants to see stability control become standard on all SUVs. Yet NHTSA, the federal agency that sets auto safety rules, has been more cautious.

The agency says that a shortage of real-world accident data, and the variety of ESC designs on the market, mean it's withholding judgment for now. It adds that a stability-control study is a top agency priority, with recommendations expected in the next two to three years. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board, a federal board acting in an advisory capacity, has strongly recommended that NHTSA require stability control on vehicles if its upcoming study proves ESC's benefit.

While cars roll over far less often than SUVs, they're not immune from sliding off a slick highway. It's telling that most sports cars, whose low centers of gravity, sticky tires and taut suspensions make them among the most sure-footed vehicles, rely on stability control for an extra margin of protection.

[Zé Bocaina]

We are near the day that cars/trucks with more than 10 years wont ride for normal city / highways places.

Airbags / ESP / other electronics /abs / low emissions will be an obligation. (Here in Brasil thats a poor country they start buying very old cars instead renovate the license - They are bought for the market value- ZERO..LOL)

To the new Gs there will be no problems , they have all acessories on road . With central lock activeted you do not have them.....perfect to off road.

May be my 92 GE 300 will have problems too.I realy hope not.

Zé

[ewalberg]

i wish my car was set up to be able to brake diagonally. That idea of diagonal brakes is a really good idea. I think i could hit the turns harder and faster if i could adjust the application of diagonal brakes in turns. Instead of a clutch pedal on the left i'd take a volume pedal which controls the distribution of brakes between diagonals.

That said what the heck, or who the heck are "Safety Advocates?" That's what i want to know. Kinda rhymes with "corporate lobbyist".

... and why do the fed's not think there's enough data yet? politics as usual, i wonder what's going on behind that decision. who's gonna get the money. that's what they're trying to figure out.

interesting articles. these electronic systems should be kept separate functions instead of all grouped into one. Driving on "normal" paved roads I've had abs specifically lengther my stopping distance multiple times. it's actually pretty freaky. Stutter bumps in paved roads make it happen. I'd trade abs for brake force distribution.

[saigonsmuggler]

Erik, the first article is a few days old. The second article is over 3 years old...therefore, you can see the progression of thinking regarding stability control. This is why the second article mentions waiting for further data, while the first article states that there is more than enough data to support it.

As mentioned above, one of the safety advocate is IIHS president.

Most modern Electronic brakeforce distribution system does diagonal braking around corners to maintain directional stability.

Important quote to remember: "And unlike air bags, which minimize injuries only after the fact, ESC is pre-emptive -- an electronic guardian angel that steps in to avert potential disaster."

Maybe you should post the above articles on pointedthree. "They" might ban you too!!

[saigonsmuggler]

I have been a big fan of stability control ever since it came out in the late 1990's. This is why i insist on every car i buy from now on must have stability control and side curtain airbags. The data is there...and Erik, now you know why i have been arguing with you so much on this topic...data backs me up 100%.

Sooner or later, every modern car manufactured will have these important safety features. In fact, on many cheap SUVs, these safety features are standard. For example, Honda CRV now comes with stability control, brake assist, and side curtain airbags standard on every model grade.

[Zé Bocaina]

Where all banned people take a seat to dring .