Electronic Stability Control or ESC is a series of computerized controls that applies breaks to individual wheels and decreases a car’s engine power to maintain stability. Introduced by Mercedes in 1998, the system is now mandatory in vehicles in the U.S.; it has been since 2012.

1. Electronic Stability
Control Proves Effective
in Preventing Crashes
Certified Automotive

2. Electronic Stability Control or ESC is a series of computerized controls that applies breaks to
individual wheels and decreases a car’s engine power to maintain stability. Introduced by Mercedes
in 1998, the system is now mandatory in vehicles in the U.S.; it has been since 2012.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, almost 1/3 of all fatal accidents could have
been avoided had the technology existed sooner.
Esc and the Sum of its Parts
The ESC system is composed of six main parts: the wheel speed sensor, a control module, the control
angle sensor, a yaw rate sensor, an accelerator and the hydraulic modulator. The ESC is derived from
the Antilock Braking System, and the parts are the same, with the addition of the yaw sensor,
accelerometer, and steering angle sensor.
Effectivity in Real World Scenarios
In a study done by the Swedish Road Administration, the effectiveness of ESC in reducing accidents
was overall positive and consistent, and in circumstances where the road has low friction. The
overall efficacy of lowering all injury crash types was 16.7 +/- 9.3%. This does not include rear-end
crashes.

3. Conversely, for severe or fatal crashes, the effectiveness increased to 21.6 +/- 12.8%. The study also
estimated the effectiveness in accidents with injured car occupants. 23.0 +/-9.2% for all injury crash
types and 26.9+/-13.9% for serious or fatal crash types. It was estimated that in Sweden — where 500
vehicle-related deaths happen annually — 80-100 of these could have been prevented had all cars
had ESC.
A separate review done by Ferguson International, LLC examined the effectiveness of ESC under
different speeds, severities and vehicle types using real-world scenarios. Fatal vehicle crashes
involving cars are reduced by about 30-50% and 50-70% in SUV’s.
Furthermore, fatal rollover crashes are reduced by 70-90%, no matter the vehicle type. The
overwhelmingly favorable findings show that ESC is indeed effective in reducing single-vehicle
accidents in cars and SUV’s.

4. Sources:
https://www.certifiedauto.info/
https://jalopnik.com/this-is-how-abs-esc-and-traction-control-work-513807036
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16484031
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17994485