A study by the Monash University Accident Research Centre found ESC systems could reduce the likelihood of a single vehicle crash in an ordinary car by 25 per cent, and up to 51 per cent in 4WD’s.

Sponsored in NSW by the NSW Centre for Road Safety and the NRMA, the study is the first to investigate the real world performance of ESC systems in reducing crash risk in Australia and New Zealand.

NRMA vehicle safety expert Jack Haley said the most encouraging finding was that the greatest reduction was in injury-related crashes, with ESC’s reducing single vehicle 4WD crashes involving driver injury by 66 per cent.

“This reinforces the NRMA’s call for ESC to be fitted as standard equipment in all new vehicles and we encourage everyone in NSW looking at buying a new vehicle to include ESC,” Mr Haley said.

“The safety specifications included in vehicles today will affect crash risk and injury outcomes for the next 20 years that these vehicles will remain on the road,” he said.

Dr Soames Job, Director of the NSW Centre for Road Safety, said that not only did the new research confirm previous international studies; it also proved its prevalence to our road conditions.

“This new study confirms the effectiveness of ESC technology in local Australasian conditions and adds further impetus to the push for greater industry support of ESC,” Dr Job said.

“The research lends greater weight to our long-term goal of having ESC incorporated into all new vehicles sold in Australia,” Dr Job said.

The study analysed crash patterns of 7,700 ESC equipped vehicles manufactured from 1997 to 2005 that had been involved in crashes across Australia and New Zealand between 2001 and 2005.

These were compared with crash patterns of about 203,000 vehicles without ESC that crashed during the same time period.

The study found a reduction in the risk of single vehicle crashes of:

• 25% for ESC equipped cars
• 51% for ESC equipped 4WDs
• 28% across all vehicle types

In single vehicle crashes where the driver was injured there were even bigger reductions:

• 28% for ESC equipped cars
• 66% for ESC equipped 4WDs
• 30% across all vehicle types

The results show ESC is vital technology for reducing the rate of single vehicle crashes in Australia and New Zealand. It is particularly important for 4WD vehicles where single vehicle crash risk is high and injuries are often severe.

Mr Job said ESC was being fitted to around 40 per cent of new vehicles, which meant there was significant room for improving the rate at which this potentially life saving technology was introduced to the Australian and New Zealand vehicle fleets.