NHTSA To Require All Vehicles To Have ESC By 2012

Photos

NHTSA says that stability control programs in cars could save an estimated 10,300 lives. (Photo: GM)

Two Mercedes-Benz coupes on an ice skidpad. Can you guess which one has stability control? (hint: it's the one not sliding around) (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)

ESC became a standard feature on many SUVs recently, due to their higher risk of rollovers. Now, it's time for cars to get the same treatment. (Photo: Volvo)

Late last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)announced that it would be phasing in a rule that would require automakers to fit electronic stability control (ESC) to all vehicles by model year 2012.

Currently, the NHTSA estimates that 90-percent of SUVs feature ESC, designed primarily to prevent skidding which can result in rollovers, most often a problem with SUVs thanks to higher centers of gravity. ESC significantly helps to reduce the number of rollovers, and therefore fatalities. By comparison, passenger cars are not as top heavy, and therefore are more difficult to roll over.

The NHTSA currently estimates that 40-percent of 2007 model year cars have ESC, but most of these are luxury or high end vehicles. Still, the technology is starting to show up on a growing number of entry-level cars as standard or optional equipment.

The NHTSA’s number crunchers revealed that out of all car accidents, only two percent result in rollovers, but of that small percentage, 40-percentresult in fatalities. Vehicles equipped with ESC could reduce rollovers by up to 84-percent, saving an estimated 10,300 lives and 238,000 injuries per year. It should be said that skids without rollovers can also result in potentially fatal accidents, and therefore many more lives could be saved with ESC than the NHTSA has accounted for.

Already, the NHTSA has outlined stability control testing procedures. The “threshold” test would involve swerving the vehicle in a fixed pattern at a speed of 50 mph. The test would be done by a computer-controlled robot, rather than a human, for consistent results and to eliminate any potential injuries. NHTSA officials believe at those speeds the severe and rapid changes in direction will be great enough to cause most vehicles without ESC to spin and lose control. Besides having the system integrated into vehicles, the NHTSA is requiring that all systems have indicator lights that would warn the driver when the system malfunctions.

The NHTSA’s research suggests that the cost of adding ESC to a vehicle is $111,provided that the vehicle already has ABS brakes. However, ESC requires ABS brakes to function, so it appears that all cars starting 2012 will also have ABS brakes a feature that many potential small car buyers will benefit from. Overall, it’s estimated that the mandated rule will set back automakers an estimated $985 million. The NHTSA estimates that as a result of this investment, property damage would drop by $450 million per year.

There are a few exceptions to the blanket rule; commercial vehicles over 10,000 lbs don’t need it, and, low-volume automakers who produce less than 5,000 units per year wouldn’t need to take part in the first phase that’s set to start in 2008. This would allow them more time to develop their systems. Meanwhile, automakers and the NHTSA have worked together to allow ESC systems to be defeatable (or turned off), which would allow SUVs and trucks to traverse off-road trails and enthusiasts to drive their vehicles on race tracks. Because most systems also work with a vehicle’s traction control system, ESC could also be turned off when traveling in deep snow.

In conjunction with the ESC requirement, during 2005 the NHTSA also proposed to increase the minimum force that a roof can withstand from 1.5 to 2.5 times the vehicle’s weight, while maintaining sufficient headroom for an average-sized male. This rule has yet to be mandated, although it is expected to start being enforced in 2011.