ChooseESC! ESC to become mandatory also in Europe

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ESC to become mandatory also in Europe

The European Commission is now ready with a proposal for a Regulation on the general safety of motor vehicles which lay down harmonised rules on the construction of motor vehicles. The proposal aims to enhance the safety of vehicles by requiring the mandatory fitting of Electronic Stability Control for all new cars in Europe from 2012. In normal driving conditions, ESC can reduce accidents by more than 20 percent while its benefits are even more significant under wet or icy conditions where the accident reduction rate increases to between 30 and 40 percent. The proposal on safety also introduce requirements for Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems and Low Rolling Resistance Tyres, which will not only contribute to improving safety but are also part of the integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from cars.

With the European Union and the US making ESC mandatory more countries might follow soon. Canada is planning also to make ESC mandatory from 2012 and Australia has already taken the decision in one state. The ChooseESC campaign has been working on two key issues: raising the awareness of ESC among the consumers and making ESC available or standard in all cars. As the installation rates of ESC in Europe are below 50% and only 20% of the car fleet is equipped with ESC there is still a lot to do to make ESC available in all cars as soon as possible and to inform the drivers that they should not choose a car which is not equipped with ESC. 4,000 lives could still be saved each year in Europe alone.

Press release from the FIA Foundation: pdf (196 KB)