European governments should prioritise crash avoidance technology as part of a four step plan to reduce road casualties, according to FIA President and FIA Foundation trustee Max Mosley.
A Euro NCAP testing protocol and rating; fiscal incentives for cars equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) and, if necessary, legislation to mandate ESC for all cars are the key elements of Mosley’s ‘fast track’ strategy for crash avoidance systems.
Speaking at a major conference in Brussels on 29th November 2005 to mark the 10th anniversary of Euro NCAP, Max Mosley, who was Chairman of Euro NCAP for eight years, said:
“Over the last decade in Europe, the greatest effort in road safety has been made in occupant protection. As a result cars are much safer when a crash happens than ever before. But surely it is so much better to avoid the crash in the first place. That is why it is so very important now to encourage ‘eSafety’ technologies that can help to reduce the number of crashes on Europe’s roads”.
“An impressive ‘eSafety’ technology available today is Electronic Stability Control, also known as ESP. These systems can compensate driver error by automatically moderating a vehicle’s lateral stability through use of ABS and traction control technologies. In this way ESC helps to prevent lateral slides and, in particular, tends to reduce the likelihood of side impact crashes into on coming vehicles”.
“The effectiveness of ESC is now well established by research carried out both by industry and independent sources. These studies, from Europe, Japan, and the USA, show a reduction in single car crashes that range between 30 to 40%”.
“In 2003 just 7.4% of American passenger vehicles were ESC equipped. In the same year 15,621 people died in single vehicle crashes. Just imagine if all the cars involved had been ESC equipped, that horrific death toll could have been cut by at least 35%. Similar life saving potential exists here in the EU. And that is why we need urgent action to promote the use of ESC in all new cars in Europe”.
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