Ford joins ChooseESC campaign

Once the preserve of only luxury or performance cars, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is now becoming a more common feature in your average run-around vehicle. Mainstream manufacturer Ford has recently given its support to a campaign encouraging the use of ESC and had the system installed as standard in several of its model ranges.

Most drivers have no idea what ESC does, although most recognise it as being a safety feature and perhaps know that it is something to do with braking. In fact, ESC systems cleverly detect the early stages of a skid and quickly bring the car back under control by adjusting the brakes on the individual wheels.

It has been suggested that ESC is the most effective safety measure to be introduced in cars since the seatbelt or the airbag. Research from America suggests that as many as 10,000 fatal car accidents a year in the US alone could be prevented if all vehicles had ESC. In the UK, whilst the numbers aren't so big, it would still help to stop tens or maybe hundreds of people dying in road accidents and countless others being injured.

What's more, ESC is an active safety measure which stops crashes happening altogether, rather than just mitigating the damage in a collision. This means that not only would lives be saved and serious injuries prevented, but we might also be able to avoid the other effects of having an accident, such as the inconvenience of repairs and the cost of car insurance claims.

It is for all of these reasons that Ford has put its weight behind the move towards having ESC systems installed in more of the new cars built for British roads. Along with safety organisations EuroNCAP and Thatcham, Ford is supporting the "ChooseESC" campaign which hopes to see ESC come as standard in every new car by 2012.

This is an ambitious goal, considering that at present, just 42% of new cars in the UK have ESC. Many motor manufacturers reject it as being too costly and only offer it as an extra on their sportier, more expensive models. Many believe that they do this in order to squeeze extra money out of motorists who want to be as safe as possible on the roads - a practice which is heavily criticised by safety campaigners.

Ford is most certainly not one of those companies. It has brought in ESC as standard for all new Ford Mondeos, S-Maxes, Galaxies and Transits, and offers customers the option to purchase it as an extra on nearly all of the model ranges, rather than just on the expensive cars.

A spokesperson for Ford commented: "ESC can play an important role in the safety of passenger cars and commercial vehicles and we are increasing the availability of ESC across the Ford range. We are pleased to support the 'ChooseESC' campaign.to help realise the full benefit of active safety features such as ESC."

Whilst Ford isn't the only manufacturer to offer ESC in their cars, it has positioned itself as one of the most prominent proponents of the safety system. Through the ChooseESC campaign, it is hoped that more consumers will start demanding ESC in their vehicles, and other manufacturers will follow Ford's lead in offering it in nearly every part of their model range. Although it will be a long time until every car on the UK's roads has ESC, for every car with it there is a better chance that it will not be involved in a road accident.

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