Electronic Stability Control

Over 3,000 young drivers aged under 25 are killed or seriously injured on UK roads annually.


One of the biggest accident types for young drivers is single vehicle accidents involving loss of control, which ESC is designed to help prevent.

New and young drivers most commonly drive small cars that are cheaper to buy and to insure. Small cars are less safe because of their size. Small cars are also less likely to have ESC fitted as standard, which is a vital safety feature. A first car is often second hand, which makes it even more difficult for young drivers to choose a car fitted with ESC. Yet these young drivers are most likely to be involved in the type of loss of control crashes where ESC could help to prevent the crash.

Young people drive poorly equipped cars.

Thatcham's fitment ratings show there are only 5 supermini models with ESC fitted as standard. These are the Mini Hatch, Mini Clubman, Peugeot 1007, Smart For Two, and the Suzuki Splash. From the 47 supermini models rated, these represent only 11% and only a very small choice for the buyer.

2008 ESC Fitment Ratings

A new law coming, but progress with ESC fitment in the UK is slow.


Overall there is still very slow progress in increasing the level of standard ESC fitment in the UK market. In 2006, Thatcham began to rate the ESC fitments and found only 40% of models had standard ESC fitment across the range. In 2008, this has only increased to 53%.

ESC has recently been made a regulatory requirement globally. All new cars launched after 2012 must be fitted with ESC as standard. However given the impending regulatory requirements, there is clearly a large gap in standard fitment that must be filled in only 3 years. This means that over 3 million new cars will be registered in the UK without ESC if fitment rates remain static until the law makes it mandatory, leading to many more accidents and fatalities on our roads.