ESP to become mandatory in the US.

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grober

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Overwhelming evidence that ESP helps reduce accidents may lead to ESP becoming mandatory in the USA. http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Sep06/14_ESP_Stability_Control_To_Be_Mandated_For_All_Future_Cars.html
Together with euro-ncaps recommendation I expect Europe may be next. http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_ratings/recommendation.php
Probably now ranks with airbags, seatbelts,ABS, radial tyres ,disc brakes and the passenger collision cell as another major step forward in car safety.:D
 
quite right . Its shocking that some cars come with electric windows and a cd player but still no esp.

:confused:
 
I've never driven an ESP controlled car.

On my old fashioned cars when the front end, or much more likely the rear end, gets loose I know how to control it and that it's time to tone down the driving. The Cosworth is especailly communicative and progressive and has lovely chassis.

Does ESP give one a fall sense of competence make one drive even further beyond ones abilities so when a prang does occur it's faster / harder / worse?
 
I feel that anyone who drives on our public roads and pushes a car to its limitations is perhaps not acting responsibly? These aids are surely there to help cope with the unexpected and NOT to encourage faster driving? How many posts have we read from so called 'expert' drivers that have switched these aids off and then had an accident? How many folks would have benefited from having these aids? They are perhaps life saving aids, but nothing will ever counter-act the actions of the so called 'expert' behind the wheel.

Speed is NOT a killer.... driver ERROR certainly is. Our public roads are not race tracks they are a highway designed to get us from point 'a' to point 'b'

I personally welcome any safety aid and that is a huge reason why I opted to buy my wife the E-class.

Well done America

John
 
95% of drivers never drive close to the limit, and in an emergency situation (perhaps swerving to avoid something on a wet road) ESP really is a life-saver. No matter how skilled a driver is they can't control each wheel individually, as ESP does.
 
I think that ESP is especially appropriate now that vehicle technology has reached its current state.

Tyres now have so much grip, suspension is so finely tuned and chassis are so well balanced that, in a modern car, when the thing lets go, it is likely to happen at such high speeds that the average driver - even good drivers, probably - just won't stand a chance of recovering the situation gracefully.

I have driven both non-ESP and ESP Audi TTs. There is no question that the non-ESP car was the better drive - more fun, more communicative, sharper. But, once a car like that reaches the limits of its adhesion, well, I for certain would just be "coming along for the ride" as we headed for the roadside scenery; I wouldn't even dream I could catch a TT once it had got out of shape. As an experiment, when I had the ESP TT I drove at a ludicrous speed onto a (safe!) roundabout. The car just felt like it had run into a treacle spill and rather sedately allowed me to proceed around the roundabout at a tootling speed. It robs us of our feeling of "taming the beast" but it unquestionably saves lives.

Philip
 
neilrr said:
Does ESP give one a fall sense of competence make one drive even further beyond ones abilities so when a prang does occur it's faster / harder / worse?

ESP shouldn't make drivers drive faster and more recklessly in the knowledge that ESP might help them out. ESP should only be called in an emergency situation like an airbag, and might not even be deployed in the ownership of the car.

My comfort in stability control as an example, if I turned a blind bend and an oncoming car was travelling at 60 mph in my direction in my lane is ESP/stability control would give me some chance of retaining control of the vehicle while doing a violent swerve.

However... I don't have any information statistically which direction I 'should' swerve. left or right if confronted in with such a (unpleasant) situation. If the highway code could 'specify' which direction to swerve in :D the car in the wrong lane should serve back into their own lane, and the other driver (me) should serve into the verge. (but there in lies the problem, most drivers do not want to swerve into the verge because it's going to damage the car) so I believe both drivers would swerve in the same direction and engage in a frontal collosion?

But anyway, some video's here of ESP in action
http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=219916
 
inherent instability of SUVs

neilrr said:
I've never driven an ESP controlled car.

On my old fashioned cars when the front end, or much more likely the rear end, gets loose I know how to control it and that it's time to tone down the driving. The Cosworth is especailly communicative and progressive and has lovely chassis.

Does ESP give one a fall sense of competence make one drive even further beyond ones abilities so when a prang does occur it's faster / harder / worse?

Neither have I, but I think the answer to your question is that on a properly designed ESP system if it intervenes you are technically about to lose control or at least enter a state where the car is very unstable. The US figures are even more telling for SUVs with a 63% reduction in accidents which does indicate the inherent instability of these vehicles.
 
Although none of my cars have ESP , nor have I driven one , I reckon I would welcome it much as I have ABS .

I consider myself a reasonable driver and learned the technique of cadence braking long ago ; I'm reasonably well practised so that I can do it instinctively with my left foot when driving automatic or right foot in a manual . Notwithstanding that the technique has allowed me to stop safely a couple of times when wheels have unexpectedly locked up in an emergency situation , I don't consider it as effective as ABS in the same circumstances .

I imagine ESP will be the same ; many of us can put cars intentionally into power slides or four wheel drifts and recover them at a chosen point , but when something unexpected happens it is all very different .
 
prprandall51 said:
I think that ESP is especially appropriate now that vehicle technology has reached its current state.

And that technology improves all the time. E.g. the 2006 model year VW Transporter / Shuttle / Caravelle (which I was looking at) had ESP including BAS as an option - £428.88.

For the 2007 model year it's now ESP including Active Rollover Protection (ARP), maximum brake support (more braking power for fully loaded vehicles), prefill (to reduce stopping distance/time), fading brake support and improved hydraulic brake assist - £317.25. And for another £35 you can add hill hold control (which I think simply programmes ESP to stop the vehicle moving backwards when you release the hand brake).
 

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