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It's not just airbags, a huge part of it is the greater availability of anti-lock breaks and traction/stability control. My brother-in-law is one of the head g

It's not just airbags, a huge part of it is the greater availability of anti-lock breaks and traction/stability control. My brother-in-law is one of the head guys at GM working in this area and he talks about how life saving these technologies are all the time. There are lots of studies out there on this, this CNN article mentions a study that says that 1/3 of deaths can be prevented by Electronic Stability Control: http://articles.cnn.com/2006-06-09/business/iihs_esc_1_multi-vehicle-esc-crash-deaths?_s=PM:AUTOS http://articles.cnn.com/2006-06-09/business/iihs_esc_1_multi...

mturmon 15y ago
I have read this also and I think your comment should be more highly ranked. Another link: http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/04/electronic-stability-control-101.html http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/04/electronic-stab... Money quote: "Consumer Reports believes that electronic stability control is the single most important safety advance since the development of the safety belt."
- bengarvey 15y ago
  Thanks for all the comments on this. My next analysis will definitely include stability controls and their adoption rate.
yason 15y ago
ESC helps in many easy situations but it also allows people to push their driving against the limits of their car. Now then, when ESC eventually fails to correct the vehicle's direction and and grip the crash that follows is usually much worse because there's nothing much that could be done within the laws of physics at that point. I see new cars with ESC at the roadbeds every winter, crashed to something. Everything certainly comes in good and bad sides but I'm of the opinion that good driving skills and controlled handling of the vehicle in various abnormal situations is worth much more than ESC. I like to feel my car losing its grip and controllability, should that happen, at the point where I can still do something about it. About 90% percent of driving skills is avoiding unexpected uncontrollable situations and the other 90% is about being able to handle them gracefully.
- Zak 15y ago
  I grew up in Alaska and saw this sort of thing every fall with four wheel drive. 4wd provides a significant advantage in acceleration on snowy/icy roads, but does not help a car to stop faster or, barring experience with rally driving techniques take a corner at higher speeds. People with 4wd would regularly get overconfident either due to the ease of acceleration or a mistaken belief that their cars could handle slippery corners better than others and end up in the ditch.
Zak 15y ago
I personally hate traction/stability control systems. I feel like the system is fighting my attempts as a driver to get the car to behave in a particular way and really don't want that kind of unpredictability in an emergency. I do have more experience than average controlling cars at the limits of grip than the average driver; I used to autocross pretty regularly. That said, I'm not opposed to the systems existing or owning cars that have them. I just want the switch to remember my preference instead of having to turn the bloody thing off every time I start the engine.

mturmon 15y ago

I have read this also and I think your comment should be more highly ranked. Another link: http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/04/electronic-stability-control-101.html http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/04/electronic-stab... Money quote: "Consumer Reports believes that electronic stability control is the single most important safety advance since the development of the safety belt."

bengarvey 15y ago
Thanks for all the comments on this. My next analysis will definitely include stability controls and their adoption rate.

yason 15y ago

ESC helps in many easy situations but it also allows people to push their driving against the limits of their car. Now then, when ESC eventually fails to correct the vehicle's direction and and grip the crash that follows is usually much worse because there's nothing much that could be done within the laws of physics at that point. I see new cars with ESC at the roadbeds every winter, crashed to something. Everything certainly comes in good and bad sides but I'm of the opinion that good driving skills and controlled handling of the vehicle in various abnormal situations is worth much more than ESC. I like to feel my car losing its grip and controllability, should that happen, at the point where I can still do something about it. About 90% percent of driving skills is avoiding unexpected uncontrollable situations and the other 90% is about being able to handle them gracefully.

Zak 15y ago
I grew up in Alaska and saw this sort of thing every fall with four wheel drive. 4wd provides a significant advantage in acceleration on snowy/icy roads, but does not help a car to stop faster or, barring experience with rally driving techniques take a corner at higher speeds. People with 4wd would regularly get overconfident either due to the ease of acceleration or a mistaken belief that their cars could handle slippery corners better than others and end up in the ditch.

Zak 15y ago

I personally hate traction/stability control systems. I feel like the system is fighting my attempts as a driver to get the car to behave in a particular way and really don't want that kind of unpredictability in an emergency. I do have more experience than average controlling cars at the limits of grip than the average driver; I used to autocross pretty regularly. That said, I'm not opposed to the systems existing or owning cars that have them. I just want the switch to remember my preference instead of having to turn the bloody thing off every time I start the engine.