NO COMPROMISE LEXUS IN THE VANGUARD OF ‘CHOOSE ESC!’ SAFETY CAMPAIGN
Fleets and company car drivers that choose Lexus models are at the forefront of a new Europe-wide campaign designed to improve road safety by ensuring that Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is standard on all new vehicles.
ESC, the anti-skid technology is standard across the Lexus model range, where it is known as Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), putting the marque in the vanguard of carmakers to provide the safety feature.
The safety feature is being billed as ‘the biggest lifesaver since seat belts’ with the potential to cut accident risk by up to 40% and fleets that choose Lexus models are not only protecting their drivers but also other road users from being killed or injured.
A ‘Choose ESC!’ campaign has been launched by eSafety Aware! a European Commission-backed organisation with support from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) and the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) Foundation. In the UK, the campaign is being led by RoadSafe, the automotive industry backed road safety group.
Campaigners want ESC fitted as standard on all new models as pressure mounts on legislators to make the life saving technology mandatory. However, the EC says it could be 2012 before the technology laws make the feature a legal requirement.
At least 40% of fatal road accidents are the result of skidding and studies show that ESC could reduce skidding accidents by up to 80%.
Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Industry Research Centre, calculates that more than 400 lives and 3,000 serious injuries on UK roads could be saved if all new vehicles were equipped with ESC.
Lack of business and consumer awareness is one of the reasons why ESC is not on every car driver’s ‘must have’ list of features, according to safety campaigners.
Euro NCAP published an ESC fitment survey to coincide with the campaign’s launch. It revealed that among 25 European Union member states the UK languishes in 21st place just ahead of the Netherlands, Greece, Malta and Ireland, with 57% of vehicles on sale equipped with ESC, 21% having the feature available as an option and it being unavailable on a further 22% of new cars.
Lexus is one of only a handful of 45 manufacturers surveyed with 100% stability control fitment across its vehicle range. By ensuring that only company cars specified with ESC are on vehicle choice lists, fleet bosses are playing a key role in ensuring a rise in the uptake of the safety technology.
In publishing the survey Euro NCAP secretary general Adrian Hobbs said: “Fleet buyers can play a pivotal role in increasing this awareness and in helping to bring pressure to bear on manufacturers and distributors to fit ESC as standard on all new cars, in all countries.”
Lexus national corporate and remarketing manager Andy Simpson, said: “Safety is a prime concern for Lexus and that is why we fit technology that has a proven track record in accident prevention, such as ESC, as standard.
“As a manufacturer we do not compromise on safety and neither should fleet managers or company car drivers. A number of our competitors, such as Audi, Jaguar and Land Rover do not fit ESC as standard to all their models. By choosing Lexus, companies and their drivers are contributing to improving road safety in the UK.”
More information on the ‘Choose ESC!’ campaign is available at
www.eSafetyAware.eu
