Statement from Continental Teves About the Efficiency of Electronic Stability Control

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- As the leading supplier of Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Continental Teves appreciates the thorough research that led to the announcement today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) that this available safety equipment could reduce the risk of fatal crashes by 34 percent, the risk of single-vehicle fatal crashes by 56 percent, and thereby save thousands of lives a year.

This news is phenomenal in that motor vehicle safety gains typically are more incremental. These benefits are staggering and amount to a paradigm shift for the better in terms of the safety of personal transportation.

View the IIHS announcement to which this statement relates

View the DSA comments at the foot of this page

The IIHS concluded that, "... widespread application of ESC in the vehicle fleet can be expected to afford a significant safety benefit" because the technology "reduces fatal single vehicle crashes by about 56 percent, and all single vehicle crashes by 41 percent."

Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also gave ESC a strong endorsement based on preliminary analysis that found SUVs equipped with stability control systems had a remarkable 63 percent fewer fatal crashes and 67 percent fewer single vehicle crashes overall. Cars equipped with ESC had 30 percent fewer fatal crashes and 35 percent fewer single vehicle crashes overall. The NHTSA findings tracked with studies in Germany, Sweden and Japan, and simulations at NHTSA's National Advanced Driving Simulator in Iowa.

By any measure the NHTSA and IIHS results confirm that technology advances have opened the door to a new era in the safety [of] motor vehicle travel. ESC, available today, is now "must have" safety equipment for today's driving environment because it can help prevent thousands of injuries and deaths. Consumers should put ESC at the top of their safety features list when shopping for a new vehicle.

In addition to the life-saving benefits of ESC, this new data suggests that this technology more than pays for itself in the saving of societal costs, which NHTSA estimates to be $230 billion annually.

Preventing rollovers and other out-of-control situations from happening should be the first goal of motor vehicle safety efforts, and having ESC on your vehicle contributes mightily to that effort. Effectiveness is as high [as] or higher than any [other] automotive safety equipment available today.

According to NHTSA, driver error is the cause of the majority of crashes. ESC and other available safety technology to help drivers avoid crashes altogether is an exciting new chapter in the national resolve to make motor vehicle travel even safer and more enjoyable.

While Mr. Kozyra and Continental Teves clearly do have major vested interests in the marketing and success of ESC, the above statement is undeniably accurate and the value of ESC as a major weapon in the fight against crashes and casualties is unquestionable.

The only point on which we would beg to differ with Mr. Kozyra has no bearing on the efficacy of ESC, it is the comment about there being a "national resolve to make motor vehicle travel even safer." Frankly, we would refer to a national apathy.