How does Electronic Stability Control affect rollover, and what is its relationship to the Rollover Resistance Ratings?
Electronic Stability Control (“ESC”),which is offered under various trade names, is designed to assist drivers in maintaining control of their vehicles during extreme steering maneuvers. It senses when a vehicle is starting to spin out (oversteer) or plow out (understeer), and it turns the vehicle to the appropriate heading by automatically applying the brake at one or more wheels. Some systems also automatically slow the vehicle with further brake and throttle intervention. What makes ESC promising for rollover prevention is the possibility that with its aid many drivers will avoid running off the road and having a single vehicle crash in the first place. However, ESC cannot keep a vehicle on the road if its speed is simply too great for the available traction and the maneuver the driver is attempting, or if road departure is a result of driver inattention. In these cases, a single vehicle crash will happen, and the rollover resistance rating will apply as it does to all vehicles in t
