Stability Control on the Road: It's Not All Electronic

Today I happened to look back at some data on the benefits of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) technology in preventing a rollover wreck. Right after that, I happened across a report on a major truck rollover during rush hour that shut down I-35, a major highway, in the Dallas area for quite a while. It reminded me that technology has its limits.

ESC technology probably makes for one of the most important motor vehicle safety developments of the past couple of decades. An ESC system can sense things like a loss of tire traction or drifting of your car to the outside of the road. Its computer-controlled components can then act to apply a brake or reduce engine torque to help you avoid a loss of control, spinning out, or a rollover. Your ESC system can play a key role in helping you avoid a car accident in Houston.

But ESC can't work miracles. If you're going too fast, or your oversteering or understeering is too great, or if you hit a fixed object, the ESC system might not be able to compensate or correct for your own errors or your lack of attention to the road. That may be why we continue to see news reports of catastrophic rollover wrecks and accidents from loss of vehicle control every single day all across our nation.

Your real vehicle stability control still rests with you. Your best control is still your own good defensive driving technique. Don't drive drunk, drowsy or distracted. Leave road rage parked in the lot. Taking a look at Houston area traffic on any given day, we can probably conclude that our daily driving conditions present more of a challenge than current ESC technology necessarily wants to handle. Your ESC system can provide a great help in a pinch. But your best chances of avoiding a car accident in Houston still lie with you.