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Stability devices good match for driver instinct
By RICHARD RUSSELL
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Few will question the advantages of anti-lock brakes for the normal driver confronted with an emergency situation. No, it doesn't help you stop any shorter and, yes, a well-trained and perfectly alert expert driver could likely accomplish slightly better results in a few circumstances. But in that fraction of a second when the eyes send a message to the brain that there's a problem and processing determines it to be a major issue, a subsequent message is sent to the appropriate nerves and muscles to slam on the brakes, the result is the same: a human being slams on the brakes.
It is human nature and even experts will do the same thing in an emergency. The difference is that some of them may be able, with all that experience and expertise, to subsequently modulate brake pressure for an effective stop. Most won't, but in theory they can.
The beauty of ABS is that no grey area exists. You stomp on the big pedal with all your might, as most will when facing a crisis, and maintain that pressure until you come to rest, run into the problem or steer around it. The latter choice is the one that proponents of ABS hope for because that's what ABS does, it lets a driver maintain control of the steering because it does not allow steering wheels to stop turning.
A new technology is becoming more commonplace, with possibly the same or even more potential to reduce death and injury on our roads: electronic stability control.
These systems work in the same manner as ABS by utilizing information from sensors to determine when things are not going exactly as planned. With ABS, the sensors report imminent wheel lockup and the brakes at that particular wheel are modulated to prevent this.
The electronic stability control (ESC) sensors or monitors report when the vehicle starts to go in a direction other than that intended by the driver. They detect a loss of grip at the front or rear end, understeer or oversteer, an imminent slide off the road forward or backward. A complex set of algorithms in the car's computer then applies the brake at one or more wheels to bring the vehicle back into control while reducing power accordingly.
The bottom line is, that like ABS, ESC allows a driver to maintain control of their vehicle in an emergency.
These systems work. And, like ABS, they do so without conscious thought from the driver or training that few will ever seek out.
Those of us exposed to such systems over the past few years during track and public testing know they work -- some more effectively and less obtrusively than many know. Those of us involved in training new drivers know these systems can save lives. There is even statistical proof they work thanks to the United States-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) which, through a new research study, has found ESC "effective in reducing the risk of fatal passenger vehicle crashes by 34 per cent." This could save thousands of lives annually.
The IIHS's results affirm those reported from earlier studies by the Electronic Stability Control Coalition and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The IIHS study showed ESC cut fatal, single-vehicle crashes 56 per cent and the risk of all single-vehicle crashes (fatal or not) by 41 per cent. Two months ago, a NHTSA study concluded ESC reduced single-vehicle crashes in passenger cars by 35 per cent and single-vehicle crashes in SUVs by 67 per cent.
Studies from the Swedish National Road Administration, Mercedes-Benz and DEKRA Automotive Research in Germany, the European Accident Causation and Toyota in Japan have shown ESC can help prevent 15 per cent of all crashes and 30 to 35 per cent of single-vehicle crashes.
The data from these studies indicates the potential savings of as many as 10,000 lives in North America each year. The important detail here is that ESC has so far been installed on a very small portion of new vehicles, as the IIHS says: "Widespread application of this technology can be expected to afford a significant safety benefit."
We have the ability to increase the safety of the vehicle we choose and drive. It goes without saying driver ability, experience and alertness are the first line of defence. But ensuring our vehicle is equipped with significant safety systems (ABS, ESC) and the best tires we can afford so as to maximize their effectiveness, will significantly increase the likelihood we will survive an otherwise negative situation.
And we can pressure manufacturers to make these systems available through those purchase decisions. ABS was standard in $15,000 economy cars a few years ago, until companies dropped it to cut a couple of hundred dollars from the advertised price and dealers told manufacturers the customer was not willing to pay.
If asked, cost-conscious Canadians probably wouldn't opt for airbags if they could lower the purchase price several hundred dollars, but we don't get that choice.
The fact is airbags in general save lives; the fact is ABS and ESC save lives too by helping prevent crashes rather than simply protecting after one has occurred.
Perhaps its time these electronic safety devices, like airbags, became mandatory. The cost savings would come in the form of reduced insurance claims and the societal cost of those 10,000 lives lost each year.
Halifax-based Richard Russell runs a driving school
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