Does Electronic Stability Control really help a driver during that panic-induced “Oh no, I’m going to crash!” moment? The short answer is ‘yes’ but that answer definitely needs further clarification…

At CODE ZERO, we are firm believers that driver skill is the most important element in ‘accident’ prevention. Our motto claiming that we are “Leading the Quest for ZERO Crashes and Collisions” comes as a result of successfully teaching hundreds of drivers important skills and techniques that help them properly control a vehicle under any circumstances. However, unexpected emergencies still occur and as human beings, we are occasionally prone to being distracted or making mistakes… Indeed, even the most skilful of drivers sometimes needs a little extra help. Fortunately, formidable players such as the Canadian Government and Auto Manufacturers have come to offer that help.

On September 1, 2011, a new law was brought into effect that requires all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada to be equipped with a safety feature known as Electronic Stability Control (ESC). When ESC detects loss of steering control, it applies a slight amount of braking to the correct wheel or wheels and in some systems also reduces engine power. This results in a decided lessening of the skid which in turn, minimizes the loss of control. For the most part, ESC allows a driver to regain full control of the vehicle, thus preventing an imminent crash! Up until now, ESC has been available on some new cars and its proven ability to help prevent a dangerous skid resulted in the new legislation.

Undoubtedly, ESC is a great safety feature. We at CODE ZERO recently did some testing alongside ICBC, driving with ESC turned on, then off. During the testing, we learned that ESC is certainly effective at helping turn that ‘Oh no!” moment into something much less dramatic, especially when dealing with an unexpected emergency situation.

However, it became abundantly clear that an increase in speed, even from 60 to 70km/h on our emergency manoeuvre course, hampered the effectiveness of ESC. Furthermore, the effects of this increase in speed were experienced by both professional CODE ZERO instructors and ‘average’ commuter-seasoned drivers.
Our overall experience testing vehicles with and without ESC led us to the following conclusions:

1. ESC was not designed to improve a vehicles cornering performance. It was designed to, and definitely does help a driver maintain control during unexpected, difficult or challenging circumstances, especially on slippery roads.

2. Total loss of adhesion is just that and neither driver skill nor ESC is a match for basic physics!

3. Too fast is still too fast!
Submitted by Andrew Field, President, CODE ZERO Licensing International Inc.