ESP “Could Halve Accident Rates” – Bosch

Bosch has reached a production milestone by announcing that it has produced 20 million Electronic Stability Program (ESP) systems since the technology was developed just over a decade ago. The company makes braking control systems at seven plants in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The active safety system detects the onset of skidding in a vehicle and works to counter it without any action by the driver. Recently published studies prove that car driver whose vehicle are fitted cause accidents much more rarely. If every new car were to be fitted with ESP, the number of “single vehicle accidents” resulting in serious injury could be reduced by up to 50 percent.

“The European Union has set itself the target of halving the number of road deaths between 2001 and 2010,” said Herbert Hemming, executive vice president sales of the chassis systems control division. “ESP can make a significant contribution to achieving this ambitious goal.”

In Germany some 70 percent of all new cars registered last year were fitted with ESP. In Europe as a whole 40 per cent of all vehicles were fitted with this technology during the same period. The UK stills lags behind Europe with only 34 per cent of new cars in 2005 fitted with ESP.

The ESP system is largely standard equipment in the more expensive luxury car sector and good progress is being made with medium class vehicles. However, the small car sector – some would say the most crucial from a safety standpoint – is still low across Europe.