Gojirra99

HARRY STOFFER | Automotive News

Posted Date: 6/16/05

WASHINGTON -- Federal safety researchers say they have found a reliable way to test the effectiveness of electronic stability control systems.

Some safety experts believe the test could lead to a government mandate requiring the systems on most new vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does not seek to impose a particular technology, says Joseph Kanianthra, the agency's associate administrator for vehicle safety research. And NHTSA does not intend to establish a handling standard for vehicles, he adds.

But NHTSA could use the test to set performance standards that cars and trucks could meet only with electronic stability control, Kanianthra says.

NHTSA plans to use its testing to detect "whether the right kind of electronic stability control is there," he says.

Whether NHTSA effectively will mandate electronic stability control, Kanianthra says, "is still an open question."

NHTSA presented its latest research last week at the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles international conference in Washington.

To test the effectiveness of electronic stability control, NHTSA researchers tried 12 emergency maneuvers. They concluded that a maneuver called "sine with dwell" was best.

It is similar to the so-called moose test in Europe. The maneuver makes a sudden swerve one way and then the other.

Even without a push from government, automakers plan to expand their installation of electronic stability control systems over the next few years, especially on light trucks.

General Motors plans to make its StabiliTrak system standard on most vehicle lines by 2010. So a NHTSA mandate would be moot for GM, spokesman Chris Preuss says.

NHTSA's research will boost stability control systems, says Jim Gill, spokesman for Continental Automotive Systems North America. Continental is a top supplier of electronic stability controls.

The systems are designed to help drivers avoid rollovers and maintain control. They rely on sensors, individual wheel braking and automatic throttle adjustments.

NHTSA last year said that electronic stability control reduced single-car crashes by 35 percent, compared with crashes of comparable models that lacked the systems. Single SUV crashes fell by 67 percent, NHTSA reported.

Other groups and companies have found similar results.

NHTSA says more research is needed.

source : autoweek

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How will it affect sports cars sales if implemented ?

XeroK00L

Won't be too long before we see a VDIM mandate.

Yeah... I agree that sports car should be exempt from such a mandate. Some cars are meant to be lightweight and fun.

mmarshall

I agree, but the exemption should ONLY be for cars used for autocrossing, rallys, gymkanas, etc.......where one wants the maximum safe cornering speed possible irrespective of electronic controls.

It also begs the question of having on, off, and multi-position switches for existing systems.
There is no reason to have an on-off switch for a stability system, IMO, unless one wants to drift or do powerslides...which should not be done on public roads anyway.

whoster

there was an article about this in the Los Angeles Times some time ago. It was an article of a woman--how a Volvo stability control system saved her life. The article discussed WHY domestic vehicles could not keep up with the technology offered in European and Japanese imports, and how the US Government should by any means make this life-saving feature a mandate for all vehicles.




Funny thing about having the on/off switch though....


the Chrysler 300C offers traction control. but it doesn't let you turn it off... -.-

the Ferrari Enzo has traction control..but you can turn THAT off. (which i wouldn't anyway..)



either way....american carmakers just don't seem to get it. way too overconfident that Toyota will NOT take over the world.

mmarshall

You're being a little too hard on "domestic" nameplates here. Cadillac, along with Mercedes, Volvo, and BMW, was one of the pioneers of stability-control technology in the mid-1990's, although Mercedes probably should be given most of the credit because the ABS technology that produced the wheel-rotation sensors that traction and stability systems are based on was originally a Mercedes project in the late 1980's. Less-complex ABS technology, however, can be traced much further back with American nameplates. In 1971 it was offered on Lincoln Continentals and Chrysler Imperials, but, as with airbags, the public was not particularly interested in safety back then and it did not sell.

whoster

well...probably not me, but the article.

i personally wouldn't be harsh on the domestic makes because i'm not entirely knowledgeable about this subject...