Effectiveness Of Electronic Stability Control Research Articles

The effects of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on fatal crash rates in the United States

Problem: Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is believed to be among the most efficient vehicle safety interventions with reported effects around 50% for fatal single and rollover crashes. However, such estimates have used sample data, which have not controlled for the possibilities of self-selection, behavioral adaptation, increased access to the technology by less safe drivers, and the calculation of effects on very specific categories of crashes. Effects of ESC in the population can therefore be expected to be smaller than is currently believed. Method: National U.S. data for fatal crashes, driving exposure and other control factors, and market penetration of ESC over 1991–2021 were used to calculate whether the trends in fatalities over time in crash rates for singles, rollovers, and fatal crashes in general matched projections from estimates of effectiveness. Results: It was found that downward trends in the relevant crash types were generally present before ESC was introduced, and that the trends thereafter were weaker. Although some trends were consistent with effects of ESC, they were markedly smaller than the projected ones, and could be explained by other factors such as the number of vehicles per capita. At best, the effect for rollovers could be up to two-thirds of previous estimates, no effect was detected for singles, while for all fatal crashes results depended upon the type of analysis performed. These results conflict with conclusions in all published ESC crash sample studies, which have compared vehicles with and without ESC. This discrepancy can be explained by methodological errors in the previous studies using induced exposure methods and self-selected samples. Practical applications: Traffic safety may not be as much improved by technological interventions as believed. Alternative approaches to traffic safety are needed, which do not rely on technology that interferes with driver behavior.

Realised safety impacts of electronic stability control in Finland

The objective of the study is to estimate the realised safety effects of electronic stability control (ESC) in Finland in the current context. The modelling of impacts was based on a framework in which the outcomes of accidents are determined by exposure of road users, accident risk and accident severity. Exposure to risk was modelled in three ways: (i) by calculating the share of passenger cars equipped with ESC with a mathematical model, (ii) on the basis of an ESC fleet penetration estimate obtained from a survey targeted to car importers and (iii) with ESC fleet penetration taking into account the penetration estimate obtained from the survey weighted with the annual kilometrage of passenger cars. The results of the study suggest that around 37 fatalities and 747 injuries were avoided in Finland in 2014 because of ESC.

The effects of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on crashes—An update

The present study is an update of the meta-analysis by Erke (Erke, A., 2008. Effects of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on accidents: a review of empirical evidence. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 40 (1), 167–173). Results from 12 studies of the effects of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) on the number of different types of crashes were summarized by means of meta-analysis. The results indicate that ESC prevents about 40% of all crashes involving loss of control. The greatest reductions were found for rollover crashes (−50%), followed by run-off-road (−40%) and single vehicle crashes (−25%). These results are however likely to be somewhat overestimated, especially for non-fatal crashes. Multiple vehicle crashes were found to be largely unchanged. Reductions were found for some types of multiple vehicle crashes. Rear-end collisions are unchanged or may increase. Fatal crashes involving pedestrians, bicycles or animals were found to increase as well. ESC was found to be more effective in preventing fatal crashes than non-fatal crashes. ESC is often found to be more effective in Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) than in passenger cars. This may be due to differences between drivers of SUVs and passenger cars. The results from meta-analysis indicate that drivers of ESC-equipped vehicles are likely to be safer drivers than other drivers. All the same, ESC may lead to behavioural adaptation in some cases, but it is not likely that behavioural adaptation offsets the positive safety effects. This may be due to a lack of knowledge about ESC.

A study of the effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control in Canada

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is a crash avoidance system found on many vehicles. Unlike air bags, which only help during a collision, ESC helps to avoid a loss of control that could lead to a collision by preventing skidding. ESC is designed to help the driver stay in control of the vehicle during an emergency manoeuvre, such as when the driver needs to swerve to avoid an obstacle. Our study is an effectiveness evaluation of ESC using crash data. The purpose of a Canadian evaluation study is to examine whether there is an issue with multi-vehicle crashes, and whether ESC is effective in Canadian weather conditions, i.e. on ice, snow and slush. Our results show that ESC is effective for all ESC-sensitive crashes (41.1% effectiveness) and its effectiveness is higher for ESC-sensitive injury crashes only (54.8% effectiveness). In particular, ESC is effective in the case of all multi-vehicle ESC-sensitive crashes (23.2% effectiveness) and of multi-vehicle ESC-sensitive injury crashes (28.4% effectiveness). ESC is also effective for single-vehicle ESC-sensitive crashes, both for all severities of crashes (18.6% effectiveness) and injury crashes only (49.3% effectiveness). The results of the study also show that ESC is effective in Canadian weather conditions (i.e. on ice, snow and slush). The effectiveness of ESC on roads covered with ice, snow and slush is 51.1% for ESC-sensitive crashes of all severities and 71.1% for ESC-sensitive injury crashes. ESC is also effective on dry roads (36.3% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive crashes of all severities and 46.6% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive injury crashes), wet roads (35.8% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive crashes of all severities and 49.5% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive injury crashes) and for both cars (28.5% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive crashes of all severities and 43.7% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive injury crashes) and LTVs (51.9% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive crashes of all severities and 69.6% effectiveness for ESC-sensitive injury crashes).

The Effect of Electronic Stability Control Following a Rear Tire Tread Belt Separation

The Effect of Electronic Stability Control Following a Rear Tire Tread Belt Separation

Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control on Maintaining Yaw Stability When an SUV Has a Rear Tire Tread Separation

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has the potential of improving yaw stability and reducing the occurrence of a crash when a vehicle experiences a rear tire tread separation. Two instrumented 4-door, RWD SUV’s equipped with ESC were tested to evaluate the effectiveness of their ESC systems on maintaining yaw stability under these circumstances. The test vehicles were evaluated with the tread and outer steel belt removed from the right rear tire. Tests were run with the ESC engaged and then repeated with the ESC disengaged. All runs were completed with the tires inflated to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. An analysis of the data collected shows that there are significant differences in the steering input required to generate a loss of control response with and without ESC enabled. Results of Sine with Dwell testing demonstrate a significant reduction in vehicle spinout response with the ESC engaged. Over three times more steering input was required before the vehicle exhibited a spinout response with ESC enabled when compared to the ESC disabled vehicle. This will likely have a positive effect on a driver’s ability to maintain control when faced with a rear tire tread separation under real world circumstances.

The Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control in Reducing Real-World Crashes: A Literature Review

Objective. Electronic stability control (ESC) is designed to help drivers maintain heading control of their vehicles in high-speed or sudden maneuvers and on slippery roads. The wider proliferation of ESC across the vehicle fleet has allowed evaluation of its effects in real-world crashes in many countries, including Japan, Germany, Sweden, France, Great Britain, and the United States. This article provides a summary of the findings. Methods. Studies that examined the real-world effectiveness of ESC were reviewed. Crash effects have been examined for different roadways, using differing analytic methods, different crash severities, and different make/model vehicles including both cars and SUVs. The review discusses the methodological differences and examines the findings according to vehicle type, crash type and severity, and road conditions. Results. The overwhelming majority of studies find that ESC is highly effective in reducing single-vehicle crashes in cars and SUVs. Fatal single-vehicle crashes involving cars are reduced by about 30–50% and SUVs by 50–70%. Fatal rollover crashes are estimated to be about 70–90% lower with ESC regardless of vehicle type. A number of studies find improved effectiveness in reducing crashes when road conditions are slippery. There is little or no effect of ESC in all multi-vehicle crashes; however, there is a 17–38% reduction in more serious, fatal multi-vehicle crashes. Conclusions. Given the extraordinary benefits of ESC in preventing crashes, especially those with more serious outcomes, the implementation of ESC should be accelerated to cover the full range of passenger vehicles in both developed and developing markets.

Effects of electronic stability control (ESC) on accidents: A review of empirical evidence

This study summarizes evidence from empirical studies on the effects of electronic stability control (ESC) on accidents in a meta-analysis. Large reductions of single vehicle accidents have been found (−49%; 95% confidence interval: [−55%; −42%]), and smaller but still significant reductions of head-on collisions (−13%; 95% confidence interval: [−17%; −8%]). Multi-vehicle fatal accidents are also significantly reduced (−32%; 95% confidence interval: [−43%; −20%]). The effects can be explained with the potential of ESC to improve driving dynamics and to reduce the probability of loss of control. However, there are significant amounts of heterogeneity in the results, especially for single vehicle accidents, and a sensitivity analysis shows that the results for single vehicle accidents are 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.

Effects of Electronic Stability Control: An Update

Objective. An earlier study reported that electronic stability control (ESC) in passenger vehicles reduced single-vehicle crash involvement risk by 41% and single-vehicle fatal crash involvement risk by 56%. The purpose of the present study was to update these effectiveness estimates using an additional year of crash data and a larger set of vehicle models. Methods. The amount of data increased by half, allowing for separate effectiveness estimates for cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and a more detailed examination of multiple-vehicle crash types. Crash involvement rates per registered vehicle were compared for otherwise identical vehicle models with and without ESC. Results. Based on all police-reported crashes in 10 states during three years, ESC reduced single-vehicle crash involvement risk by approximately 41%. Effects were significantly higher for SUVs than for cars. ESC reduced single-vehicle crash involvement risk by 49% for SUVs and 33% for cars. Based on all fatal crashes in the United States during four years, ESC was found to have reduced single-vehicle fatal crash involvement risk by 56%. Again, effectiveness estimates were higher for SUVs than for cars—59% for SUVs and 53% for cars, but these differences were not statistically significant. Multiple-vehicle fatal crash involvement risk was reduced by 32%–37% for SUVs and 25% for cars. Conclusions. The present study confirms the results of the earlier study. There are significant reductions in single-vehicle crash rates when passenger vehicles are equipped with ESC. In addition, ESC leads to reductions in severe multiple-vehicle crashes.

The Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) in Reducing Real Life Crashes and Injuries

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) was introduced on the mass market in 1998. Since then, several studies showing the positive effects of ESC have been presented. Objective. In this study, data from crashes occurring in Sweden during 1998 to 2004 were used to evaluate the effectiveness of ESC on real life crashes. The effectiveness was analyzed for different road conditions, and some accident types and injury levels. Methods. The study used statistical analysis. To control for exposure, induced exposure methods were used, where ESC-sensitive to ESC-insensitive crashes and road conditions were matched in relation to cars equipped with and without ESC. Cars of similar or, in some cases, identical make and model were used to isolate the role of ESC. Results. The study shows a positive and consistent effect of ESC overall and in circumstances where the road has low friction. The overall effectiveness on all injury crash types, except rear end crashes, was 16.7 ± 9.3%, while for serious and fatal crashes; the effectiveness was 21.6 ± 12.8%. The corresponding estimates for crashes with injured car occupants were 23.0 ± 9.2% and 26.9 ± 13.9%. For serious and fatal loss-of-control type crashes on wet roads the effectiveness was 56.2 ± 23.5% and for roads covered with ice or snow the effectiveness was 49.2 ± 30.2%. It was estimated that for Sweden, with a total of 500 vehicle related deaths annually, that 80–100 fatalities could be saved annually if all cars had ESC. Conclusions. ESC was found to reduce crashes with personal injuries, especially serious and fatal injuries. The effectiveness ranged from at least 13% for car occupants in all types of crashes with serious or fatal outcome to a minimum of 35% effectiveness for single/oncoming/overtaking serious and fatal crashes on wet or icy road surface. No difference in deformation pattern was found for cars with or without ESC.

Design of Simulator Scenarios to Study Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control Systems

The mission of the National Advanced Driving Simulator is to conduct highway safety research that will reduce annual loss of life on U.S. roadways. The simulator is well suited in its ability to replicate vehicle dynamics—and associated motion and visual cues—realistically to conduct complex experiments. It is unique in its ability to study vehicle control and loss-of-control situations in a safe and controlled environment. These capabilities make it an appropriate device to study the effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC) systems, in which proper handling during loss of vehicle control is critical to assess system efficacy. The focus of the study is on challenges associated with creating repeatable yet unexpected scenario events in which loss of control is imminent for most drivers. Scenario events designed for a large-scale experiment to study ESC systems are detailed, data derived from these scenarios are discussed, and findings of scenario effectiveness are presented. A discussion of what constitutes loss of control and how to measure its effect effectively is provided.

Design of Simulator Scenarios to Study Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control Systems

The mission of the National Advanced Driving Simulator is to conduct highway safety research that will reduce annual loss of life on U.S. roadways. The simulator is well suited in its ability to replicate vehicle dynamics—and associated motion and visual cues—realistically to conduct complex experiments. It is unique in its ability to study vehicle control and loss-of-control situations in a safe and controlled environment. These capabilities make it an appropriate device to study the effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC) systems, in which proper handling during loss of vehicle control is critical to assess system efficacy. The focus of the study is on challenges associated with creating repeatable yet unexpected scenario events in which loss of control is imminent for most drivers. Scenario events designed for a large-scale experiment to study ESC systems are detailed, data derived from these scenarios are discussed, and findings of scenario effectiveness are presented. A discussion of what...

The estimated reduction in the odds of loss-of-control type crashes for sport utility vehicles equipped with electronic stability control

Introduction Using data from the NASS General Estimates System (GES), the method of induced exposure was used to assess the effects of electronic stability control (ESC) on loss-of-control type crashes for sport utility vehicles. Method Sport utility vehicles were classified into crash types generally associated with loss of control and crash types most likely not associated with loss of control. Vehicles were then compared as to whether ESC technology was present or absent in the vehicles. A generalized additive model was fit to assess the effects of ESC, driver age, and driver gender on the odds of loss of control. In addition, the effects of ESC on roads that were not dry were compared to effects on roads that were dry. Results Overall, the estimated percentage reduction in the odds of a loss-of-control crash for sport utility vehicles equipped with ESC was 70.3%. Both genders and all age groups showed reduced odds of loss-of-control crashes, but there was no significant difference between males and females. With respect to driver age, the maximum percentage reduction of 73.6% occurred at age 27. The positive effects of ESC on roads that were not dry were significantly greater than on roads that were dry.

Effect of Electronic Stability Control on Automobile Crash Risk

Per vehicle crash involvement rates were compared for otherwise identical vehicle models with and without electronic stability control (ESC) systems. ESC was found to affect single-vehicle crashes to a greater extent than multiple-vehicle crashes, and crashes with fatal injuries to a greater extent than less severe crashes. Based on all police-reported crashes in 7 states over 2 years, ESC reduced single-vehicle crash involvement risk by approximately 41 percent (95 percent confidence limits 33–48) and single-vehicle injury crash involvement risk by 41 percent (27–52). This translates to an estimated 7 percent reduction in overall crash involvement risk (3–10) and a 9 percent reduction in overall injury crash involvement risk (3–14). 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 (39–68). This translates to an estimated 34 percent reduction in overall fatal crash involvement risk (21–45).