Electronic Stability Program (ESP) has become a universal standard. From November, all newly registered passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes must be equipped with the anti-skid system. The regulation will take effect for all other vehicles one year later. “ESP saves lives,” says Gerhard Steiger, president of the Bosch Chassis Systems Control division. An accident research study by Bosch confirms its effectiveness.
In 2011, ESP prevented more than 33,000 accidents involving injury and saved more than 1,000 lives in the EU member states (of which there were 25 at the time), even though ESP was only installed in an estimated 40 percent of vehicles. Since being launched in 1995, ESP has prevented 190,000 accidents and saved more than 6,000 lives across Europe.
The above video shows how ESP counteracts skidding at an early stage by activating the brakes and, if necessary, via engine interventions.