The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today
proposed a first-ever federal motor vehicle safety standard to
require electronic stability control (ESC) systems on large
commercial trucks and buses. The rule would affect vehicles with
a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds. As
proposed, the rule would take effect between two and four years
after the standard is finalized, depending on the type of
vehicle. The proposal also includes standards for performance
testing of the technology. Agency research shows the technology
could prevent up to 56% of rollover crashes each year and
another 14% of loss-of-control crashes. An extensive NHTSA
research program to determine how available stability control
technologies affect crashes involving commercial vehicles found
ESC systems to be the most effective tool for reducing the
propensity for heavy vehicles to rollover or lose control. NHTSA
estimates that a standard requiring ESC on the nation's large
trucks and large buses would prevent up t