ESC, also known as Electronic Stability Control, is a safety feature installed in some vehicles to prevent automobile accidents and fatal injuries from occurring on the road. Government research has proven that ESC reduces up to forty percent of single vehicle crashes and up to eighty eight percent of dangerous turnovers in large vehicles such as trucks and other SUVs. It is designed for drivers to maintain control of their automobile as the computer uses the speed sensors located on the wheels and steering wheel to determine the motive of the driver. These sensors recognize when the car is not going in the direction intended by the steering wheel position which then signals to the computer that brakes need to be applied to individual wheels. When this automatic brake takes place to the appropriate wheel, control of the car is maintained. This technology prevents a vehicle from oversteering, understeering, fishtailing and skidding which are all common causes of automobile accidents.
Following a pattern of lawsuits directly related to automobiles not being equipped with this feature, ESC installation began to rise in the mid 2000s. Although the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 126 requires all vehicles sold in the United States to be installed with ESC, this standard will not be forced until 2012. As a result, cars without ESC will continue to be sold across the United States. Automobile owners should also be aware that automakers use different titles for this technology. To determine whether a car was built this safety feature visit http://www.iihs.org/ratings/esc/esc.asp.