ESC Prevents Rollovers. But What Happens When the ESC Goes Wrong?

ESC Prevents Rollovers. But What Happens When Something with the ESC System Goes Wrong?

ESC systems usually get noticed as the greatest vehicle safety invention since the seat belt. But letting an automated system make driving decisions and driving corrections for you always presents some risk. Automated decision-making systems can only evaluate data that they have been programmed to evaluate. Present them with unclear data, or make a slight error in the programming, and you may have some very bad, even dangerous, automated decisions confronting you. Automated decision-making systems, like vehicle ESC modules, remain limited by their programming in ways that human drivers are not.

Last month, when we were putting up some articles on the website about ESC systems, we gave some thought to addressing this issue: what happens when the very safety system that you rely on to prevent a wreck miscalculates? What if your accident and rollover prevention ESC system actually causes your Katy, TX accident or rollover? But ESC system errors and the wrecks that they might cause receive so little attention that we decided not to bring it up. We didn't want to scare anyone away from a safety feature that might well save their life. Because the potential for an ESC system to save your life remains so much greater than a remote possibility that your ESC system might miscalculate.

But just recently, Daimler Trucks issued a recall on trucks containing a defective ESC module for this very reason: automated decision-making miscalculations. The defect in the recalled ESC modules can cause them to miscalculate slip angles and perceive over steering when there is none. When a defective ESC system thinks it perceives over steering, the system applies the brake to a front tire.

The recalled ESC systems affect about 5,000 Daimler trucks. If you're driving down the Katy Freeway, you absolutely do not want the Daimler truck in the lane next to you to suddenly veer into your lane and rollover on you because its ESC system has miscalculated. Such deadly mistakes go way beyond: "Oops. My bad." You can hold defendants liable for many thousands, or even millions, of dollars because of such deadly errors.

You can probably imagine what would happen if you were driving along I-10 and suddenly your own brakes stopped one front wheel of your vehicle. Your vehicle would deviate drastically from its course. You might unexpectedly exit the highway, or enter an adjacent lane as your car banked unexpectedly to the side. Your sudden course change might well end in a rollover wreck. In effect, your ESC safety feature would have caused the very Katy, TX accident or rollover wreck that it intended to prevent.

You may have experienced a sudden Katy, TX accident. It may be that a defective ESC system for a vehicle involved in the accident miscalculated or failed. Careful investigation of the accident could help determine if a defective ESC system played a role.

We are Katy, TX accident attorneys. We belong to the upper tier of Personal Injury law trial attorneys who have received Board Certification from the State of Texas for specialized legal knowledge, solid trial experience, and proven commitment to our clients' needs. We have more than 12 years of experience investigating complex accident puzzles, and locating the hard evidence you need to prove your injury claims.

If you have lingering questions about a complicated accident that has injured you, give our Katy, TX accident attorneys a call for a free legal consultation. We might well have the answers you're seeking. And with solid answers, and the evidence to back them up, you could make a successful financial recovery for your accident losses from those who ultimately caused them.