Over 40 new vehicles were put to the test in Thatcham's research, which will be used to assist the efforts of Euro NCAP, Thatcham and other safety experts in establishing an ESC performance rating in the future.

The test programme was funded by Euro NCAP and tested those vehicle makes and models which were originally crash-tested by the European safety organisation in 2009, based on the internationally recognised GTR (Global Technical Regulation) procedure. 

The aim of Thatcham’s dynamic ESC tests is to assess whether the ESC systems sold on cars will actually operate effectively. The tests involve the car being driven at 50mph and being subjected to a double lane change – a typical high-speed avoidance manoeuvre – under the control of a sophisticated steering robot. 

UK-based research has found that vehicles equipped with ESC are 25% less likely to be involved in a fatal accident than those without it and that if every vehicle on the road were fitted with ESC, this would equate to approximately 380 fewer fatal accidents each year.

Full videos of the Thatcham Dynamic ESC tests, featuring external and in-car footage are available from the Euro NCAP website along with its latest ratings at www.euroncap.com