Released: September 15, 2006

Closer to auto stability control standard

Source: By Jayne O'Donnell, USA Today

Federal regulators proposed Thursday that by 2012 all vehicles be built with a technology that keeps them from veering out of control.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the technology, known as stability control, will save 5,300 to 10,300 lives a year when it is on all vehicles. That would make it the most life-saving safety device since the seat belt, which is estimated to save about 15,000 lives a year.

NHTSA says about 252,000 injuries also could be prevented by stability control. Stability control makes it “possible to prevent the crash entirely,” says NHTSA chief Nicole Nason.

The technology goes by different names — vehicle skid control and AdvanceTrac, among them — on different vehicles. NHTSA said it is on about a third of all 2006 cars and light trucks. Nason says the agency’s proposed stability-control regulation will help assure consumers that all systems meet both the government’s requirements and performance tests.

Stability control’s biggest benefit is its ability to prevent many rollover crashes, which make up about a quarter of the auto fatalities each year.

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