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A new campaign has been launched to encourage more fleets to ensure they only run vehicles that are equipped with life-saving electronic stability control (ESC), also known as ESP (electronic stability programme).
Safety and duty of care are two of the top three most critical issues for fleet decision-makers when selecting vehicles - but a third of all fleet managers admit to not taking actions and implementing initiatives to improve road safety and even those who do frequently fail to recommend ESC as standard.
The disparity has been highlighted in research among 215 fleet decision-makers, who collectively manage over 77,000 vehicles, conducted by automotive technology manufacturers Bosch as it continues its bid to promote the technology.
The European Commission has announced its intention to mandate the fitment of ESC for new cars sold within the European Union from September 2011 onwards. In the UK about 45% of all new cars are available with ESC as standard.
However, in the interim, a Europe-wide ‘Choose ESC!’ campaign is being promoted by eSafetyAware. In the UK the campaign is being managed by automotive-led road safety organisation RoadSafe, which counts Fleet Support Group among its members.
Bosch’s research revealed that corporate fleet decision-makers cite vehicle reliability (94%), safety (89%) and duty of care (87%) as their three most important vehicle selection criteria.
But, only two-thirds of those questioned say they have taken action in terms of fleet policies and procedures to improve road safety, and the mandatory fitment of certain safety equipment to fleet vehicles as part of a road safety plan is considered by less than 50% of operators.
In addition, two-thirds of those questioned said they had heard of stability control, but only 31% could describe its safety benefits in detecting the risk of skidding and using the vehicle’s brakes to steer it back on track and only 19% currently mandated ESC as part of their company vehicle policy.
That is despite ESC being hailed as the greatest life-saver since the introduction of the seatbelt and a Department for Transport study concluding that vehicles equipped with ESC were 25% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident than those without it. That equates to 380 fatal accidents and the reduction of 7,800 injuries a year. ESC is currently standard fit on about 45% of all new cars.
Backing the call for fleet operators to put ESC on their ‘must have’ list, Julie Jenner, chairman of ACFO, which supported the research, said: “Almost 20% of fleet managers are already specifying ESC as compulsory equipment within their own company vehicle policy. The task now is for all fleet managers to demand that ESC is included in discussions with their vehicle supplier and to support the majority call to make ESC standard equipment.”
David Fulker, head of UK marketing for Bosch Chassis Systems Control, added: “It is of paramount importance for fleet operators to estimate the total cost of ownership for the running time of their fleet and to optimise its cost. The benefits of ESP in avoiding accidents has a direct impact on reducing a company’s accident costs - which according to one industry source accounts for 13% of a fleet’s total cost of ownership.”