Global NCAP Wants Brazil To Make ESC A Compulsory Feature

Global NCAP is lobbying for the Brazilian government to make ESC a compulsory for all new cars. This follows after a recent move by the Brazilian government in 2014 that made ABS a compulsory feature for all new cars.

ESC, or electronic stability control, is now a compulsory feature in the US, Australia, Canada, European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and will soon also be in Argentina.

ESC is widely considered to be the most important car safety development since the seat belt.

In their recent Global Status Report on Road Safety the World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed their concern that global car manufacturers who are required to fit ESC in high-income countries “can sell the same model to markets without this life saving technology if the country does not apply the ESC regulation”.

To avoid de-specification of safety technologies the WHO says ESC “should be mandatory in all vehicles”. Noting that the system is also effective in commercial vehicles (such as trucks, coaches and mini-buses) the WHO comments that “there is enormous life-saving potential for this technology across the world’s entire vehicle fleet that has yet to be tapped globally.”

Speaking at the launch of the Stop the Crash Partnership in Brasilia, David Ward, Secretary General of Global NCAP and Chairman of the Stop the Crash Partnership, said:

“ESC is a vital life saving technology which can prevent crashes altogether rather than just protecting people when one occurs.

“Our latest research shows that hundreds of thousands of deaths and serious injuries could be prevented in Brazil if ESC and a package of other UN regulations were introduced. This is why Global NCAP recommends that the Brazilian government build on their 2014 decision to mandate ABS and do the same now for ESC.”

ESC is generic term. Different manufactures have different names for the same feature. Among the examples are VSA (Honda), VSC (Toyota), ASC (Mitsubishi), ESP (Volkswagen and Audi), DSC (BMW).