| ESC was found to have potential to prevent 19.3% of crashes involving large trucks included in the LTCCS database. | The estimates are based on real-world crash data collected in Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) which was conducted from 2001 to 2003. The LTCCS study conducted on-scene investigations for real-world crashes and produced a database of 1070 accidents. This data was used to make case by case estimations of the applicability of crash avoidance countermeasures for each crash based on expert knowledge on the analysed systems and their effectiveness in various crash scenarios. | Kingsley, K. J. | 2009 | Evaluating crash avoidance countermeasures using data from FMCS's/NHTSA's large truck accident causation study. Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference (ESV) - International Congress Center Stuttgart, Germany, June 15–18, 2009. |
| ESC is estimated to prevent 9,587 casualties in 2021 with full fleet penetration which corresponds to annual cost savings of £764 million. | Calculation of the reduction of fatalities was based on an earlier studies carried out in UK using case control method and induced exposure, statistics on vehicles equipped with ESC and models used to predict the increase in the share of vehicles equipped with ESC. | Weekes, A., Avery, M., Frampton, R. and Thomas, P. | 2009 | ESC standard fitment and failure to protect young drivers. Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference (ESV) - International Congress Center Stuttgart, Germany, June 15–18, 2009. |
| ESC drivers were much more likely than drivers of other vehicles to be aware of ESC (77% vs. 39%) and that their own vehicle was equipped with it (63% vs. 8%), but 23 percent had never heard of it. 90%of drivers who knew that their vehicle was equipped with ESC believed that ESC had made it safer to drive and reported being confident that ESC would work in an emergency. 23% of ESC owners who knew their vehicle had ESC reported noticing long-lasting changes in their driving behaviour. Hence, behavioural adaptation to ESC is likely in certain drivers; however, its proven effectiveness in reducing the likelihood of being involved in a serious crash probably outweighs any potential increases in unsafe driving. ESC-equipped vehicles should be marketed in a realistic, safe manner. | Two separate telephone surveys on drivers' perceptions and awareness of ESC. The first surveyed 500 randomly selected owners/drivers of passenger vehicles and the second 1017 owners/drivers of 2006-2008 ESC-equipped passenger vehicles in Canada. | Rudin-Brown, C.M.; Jenkins, R.W.; Whitehead, T. & Burns, P.C. | 2009 | Could ESC (Electronic Stability Control) Change the Way We Drive? Traffic Injury Prevention, 10:4, pp. 340 - 347. |
| About 90% of the car drivers with ESC know that the car is equipped with the system. More than 35% of those without ESC erroneously state that their car has the system. Almost all drivers (over 95%) are aware that they have antilock brakes. For both ABS and ESC, the drivers state that they have noticed that the systems were mainly activated on snowy/icy roads. They also think that the system is most beneficial under such conditions. In these risk situations, the drivers consistently state that they are more likely to take a risk when they think they have the support system, than when they do not have it. Car drivers which have ESC have a greater tendency to increase their risk taking than the car drivers without ESC. Men and the youngest drivers are most risk-prone. The study concludes that drivers are more risk-prone when they think they have a certain technical support system than when they think they do not have the system. The increased safety offered by the system may be impaired due to that the driver compensates by increasing his or her risk. | Questionnaire based on the "Theory of planned behaviour" has been used. The drivers' intentions to behave in a certain way in three critical driving situations were studied as a post survey sent to 1,000 car drivers with ESC and to 1,000 drivers of similar cars without ESC. The response rate was 48% (53% for those with ESC). There were slight more men and older drivers than in the whole driver population. | Vadeby, A.; Wiklund, M. & Forward, S. | 2009 | The expectations and views of car drivers concerning antilock brakes (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) systems. VTI rapport 647. 56 p. + app. 14 p. (Swedish with English summary) |
| Socio-economic benefits related to the indirect traffic effects of ESC - the reduction in congestion costs - have been estimated to lie between 135-157 million € in 2010 and 173-217 million € in 2010. ESC was estimated to reduce the number of injuries by 3.3-10.5% and fatalities by 9.8-24.5%, when 100% penetration in terms of vehicle kilometres was assumed. | The estimates for the safety impacts are based on synthesis of earlier studies, the power model presented by Göran Nilsson and assumptions made by the authors. | Wilmink, I., Janssen, W., Jonkers, E., Malone, K., van Noort, M., Klunder, G., Rämä, P., Sihvola, N., Kulmala, R., Schirokoff, A., Lind, G., Benz, T., Peters, H. and Schönebeck, S. | 2008 | Impact assessment of Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems. eIMPACT Deliverable D4, Socio-economic Impact Assessment of Stand-alone and Co-operative Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems (IVSS) in Europe (eIMPACT) |
| This study summarises evidence from empirical studies on the effects of electronic stability control (ESC) on accidents in a meta-analysis. The study concludes on a 49% reduction in single vehicle accidents, 13% reduction head-on collisions and 32% reduction of multi-vehicle fatal accidents due to ESC improving driving dynamics and reducing the probability of loss of control. However, a sensitivity analysis indicates results for single vehicle accidents likely to be affected by publication bias. The results for single vehicle accidents are in excess of what might be expected based on studies that have estimated the total amount of accidents that may be affected by ESC. Consequently, the proportions of accidents that can be avoided by ESC is assumed to be somewhat smaller than suggested by most empirical studies. Properties of the vehicles, time trends, and driver behaviour may have contributed to the large empirical effects. | The study applied meta-analysis on a set of earlier accident statistics based studies. | Erke, A. | 2008 | Effects of electronic stability control (ESC) on accidents: A review of empirical evidence. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 40, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 167-173. http://www.sciencedirect.com |
| The results showed that the effectiveness of ESC is 3% for crashes of all severity. The number of serious crashes was 19% smaller for cars with ESC compared to cars with no ESC. The number of fatalities was 15% less for cars with ESC compared to cars with no ESC. | The analysis was carried out on the basis of a database of accidents reported to the police in UK during 2002-2005. The analysis used case-control method and involved 10,475 case vehicles and 41,656 control vehicles involved in accidents and group of manouvres in which ESC effect was considered possible and a group of control manouvres. | Thomas, P. | 2007 | Real-world assessment of relative crash involvement rates of cars equipped with electronic stability control. Proceedings of the 20th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference (ESV) in Lyon, France, June 18-21, 2007. |
| A study undertaken by the University of Cologne concluded that 4 000 lives could be saved each year and 100 000 injuries could be avoided each year on European roads if all cars would be equipped with ESC. The analysis shows that for every Euro invested in ESC cost savings of 3.5-5.8 Euro arise to society. | The results are based on socio-economic cost-benefit analysis. The impacts of ESC have been estimated on the basis of earlier studies. The impacts of ESC have been estimated on the basis of the share of single vehicle accidents of all accidents, the share of single vehicle accidents caused by a skidding vehicle and the estimated effectiveness of ESC in preventing those accidents. | Baum, H., Grawenhoff, S. and Geißler, T. | 2007 | Cost-Benefit-Analysis of the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Summary Report. |
| Overall the cars with ESC are involved in 7% fewer crashes although the effectiveness is substantially higher under conditions of adverse road friction i.e. 20% reduction on snowy and icy roads. ESC equipped cars are involved in 25% fewer fatal crashes and in 11 % fewer serious crashes. | The study used the national accident statistics of Great Britain. The crash experience of 10475 cars was analysed and compared to a closely matching set of 41656 non-ESC cars using case-control methods. | Frampton, F. & Thomas, P. | 2006 | Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control Systems in Great Britain. Vehicle Safety Research Centre, Loughborough University |
ESC reduces the risk of fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by 32 percent amd the risk of all single-vehicle crashes by more than 40 percent — fatal ones by 56 percent.
While both cars and SUVs benefit from ESC, the reduction in the risk of single-vehicle crashes was significantly greater for SUVs — 49 percent versus 33 percent for cars. The reduction in fatal single-vehicle crashes wasn't significantly different for SUVs (59 percent) than for cars (53 percent). ESC reduces the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers of SUVs by 80 percent, 77 percent for cars. ESC was found to reduce the risk of all kinds of fatal crashes by 43 percent. Losses under collision coverage are about 15 percent lower for vehicles with ESC than for predecessor models without it. However, ESC doesn't have much effect on property damage liability claims or the frequency of injury claims. These findings track police-reported crashes, which show little effect of ESC on the risk of low-severity multiple-vehicle crashes.
| Statistical analysis of road accidents and fatalities as well as traffic insurance claims. | IIHS | 2006 | Update on Electronic Stability Control. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Status Report, Vol. 41, No. 5 and News Release, June 13, 2006. |
| ESC decreased the accident rate of single-car accidents by about 44% and that of head-on collisions by about 24%; the decrease was higher for more severe accidents; the decrease of single accidents and head-on collisions was higher on wet road conditions (58%) than on dry conditions (20%). | Comparison of data of 1,471 single-car accidents or head-on collisions not caused by drunk driving or drowsy driving involving ten models that were originally designed and shipped without ESC but subsequently became to be equipped with ESC were chosen from the accident data held by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) in Japan. Accident numbers were related to the number of such cars in use. | Ohono & Shimura | 2005 | Results from the survey on effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC). Press release. National Agency for Automotive Safety & Victims' Aid (NASVA) 2005/02/18. |
| The overall effectiveness of ESC on all injury crashes except for rear end crashes was 16.7 +/- 9.3%, while for serious and fatal crashes the effectiveness was 21.6 +/- 12.8%. The effectiveness for serious and fatal crashes on wet roads was 56.2 +/- 23.5 %. On roads covered with ice and snow, the corresponding effectiveness was 49.2 +/- 30.2 %. | The estimates are based on the assumption that rear end crashes on dry road surfaces are not affected at all by ESC. | Lie, A., Tingvall, C., Krafft, M. & Kullgren, A. | 2005 | The effectivess of ESC (Electronic Stability Control) in reducing real life crashes and injuries. 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference (ESV), June 2005. |
| In Australia, ESC is estimated to reduce road fatalities in light vehicles by 29%. Assuming that ESC can prevent 50% of loss-of-control accidents and that an ESC units costs $1,000, ESC is estimated to have a benefit cost ratio of 0.51. | Compilation of ESC safety evaluation results throughout the world. | Paine, M | 2005 | Electronic Stability Control: Review of Research and Regulations. Vehicle Design and Research Pty Limited for Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW. June 2005. |
| In Germany, 100 per cent equipment of all cars with ESP is estimated to reduce the number of accidents with car occupant injuries by about 7 -11 %. The reduction in the car occupant fatalities would be approximately 15 -20 % | The study compiled all available accident studies on ESP effectiveness | Langwieder, K. | 2005 | Wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisstand zu ESP. 10 Jahre ESP, Berlin, 23. Februar 2005. |
| Single vehicle crashes were reduced by 35% in passenger cars and by 67 % in SUV crashes. The study also showed significant or borderline-significant reductions in the multi-vehicle crash rates per 100,000 vehicle years with ESC. | As multi-vehicle crashes we used as the control group and it is possible that multi-vehicle crashes are being reduced by ESC, this means that the true effectiveness of ESC could be higher than estimated for single vehicle crashes. | Dang, J. | 2004 | Preliminary results analyzing the effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC) systems. National Highway Traffic Safety Agency, USA. |
| ESC reduced single-vehicle crash involvement risk by approximately 41 % and single-vehicle injury crash involvement risk by 41 %. This translates to an estimated 7 % reduction in overall crash involvement risk and a 9 % reduction in overall injury crash involvement risk. Based on all fatal crashes in the United States over 3 years, ESC was found to have reduced single-vehicle fatal crash involvement risk by 56 percent. This translates to an estimated 34 percent reduction in overall fatal crash involvement risk. | The study compared crash involvement rates for otherwise identical vehicle models with and without ESC systems. | Farmer, C | 2004 | Effect of electronic stability control on automobile crash risk. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, Virginia, USA. |