#ElectronicStabilityControl

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is forcing heavy trucks and large buses to use electronic stability control (ESC). 

AutoGuide’s last installment of “Under the Hood” investigated traction control; today it’s time to look at another safety feature. This one has nothing to do with gripping the road and everything to do with keeping your vehicle shiny-side up.

According to a recent study released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federally-mandated electronic stability control (ESC) technology is saving an increasing number of lives each year.

Would you trust new technology with your life? One Chevy Volt owner did, and walked away from a rather serious smash-up mostly unharmed.

New rules to Britain’s MoT inspection program, used by the government to declare whether vehicles are roadworthy or not, could end up costing motorists thousands of dollars for non-essential repairs.

Men and women disagree on a lot of things, but when it comes to which gender is the better driver, there’s one thing most of us can all agree on – women are. But the two sexes do have something to learn from each other when it comes to driving.

According to a new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), stability control has made cars much safer, lowering fatal accidents by eighteen percent. The government study used statistics from 1997 to 2009 to assess the effectiveness of stability control systems. The study also noted in 2005, less than twenty percent of new vehicles were sold with the feature. By 2007, legislation was passed to require electronic software in all 2012 models.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has confirmed what all of those Ford Explorer drivers thought all along: SUV drivers are least likely to die in a crash.

Electronic stability control systems save lives. That’s a fact. And as a result every vehicle now sold in the U.S. comes with a stability control system. But only a fraction of cars sold come with full defeatable ESC – the type that lets you shut off all the electronic nannies and hand the tail end out like you’re filming an episode of Top Gear.

It’s good to be good – especially when you’re singled out for it. And that’s what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) just did with the 2011 Cadillac CTS and Infiniti M37/M56, which earned Top Pick Safety Awards in the large luxury class and earned the top rating of good in recent roof strength tests.

Luxury can also be safe. The latest vehicle to win an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award is the Cadillac SRX, a midsize luxury SUV. It earned the IIHS’s top safety designation after getting a good rating for rollover protection. The Cadillac SRX had previously earned good ratings for front, side, and rear crash protection.

You can bet that BMW is celebrating this win. The redesigned 2011 BMW 5 series just earned good ratings in all four safety evaluations, garnering it an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick status among large cars.

Consumer watchdog, Consumer Reports has released its list of 2010 cars, which includes the Hyundai Accent and the Chevrolet Aveo, that do not come with the electronic stability control (ESC) safety feature.

The Kia Forte took home the 2010 Top Safety Pick, given out by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  This is the third model from the Kia/Hyundai brand to win the rating for 2010, following the Kia Soul and the Hyundai Sonata.