SUV rollovers reduced by stability control systems

DETROIT, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Stability control systems on vehicles are effective in reducing rollover accidents, particularly in sport utility vehicles that are more prone than cars to overturn, U.S. vehicle safety regulators said on Thursday.

The electronic stability systems, which detect if a vehicle is starting to roll and begin a series of countermeasures, reduced single vehicle crashes in SUVs by 67 percent when compared to the same models sold in prior years without the technology, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

In passenger cars, single vehicle crashes were reduced by 35 percent in models with the stability systems.

Rollovers have gained significance since 2000 after Ford Motor Co's (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Explorer SUVs were involved in a series of single vehicle rollover accidents, which killed about 300 people and led to a spate of lawsuits against the automaker.

Since then, many automakers, including Ford, have lowered the center of gravity of SUVs and began making the vehicles with wider bases, which helps stabilize the vehicle.

Earlier this year, Ford announced it would make rollover sensors and electronic stability control standard on the Explorer and a few other mid-size SUVs.

In 2003, 15,621 people died in single vehicle passenger crashes on the nation's highways, according to NHTSA.

"This technology appears to provide safety benefits by reducing the number of crashes due to driver error and loss of control because it has the potential to anticipate situations leading up to some crashes before they occur," the NHTSA study said.

NHTSA evaluated the technology by studying fatal and nonfatal crashes from 1997-2003. The study examined crash statistics only for vehicles equipped with electronic stability control system as standard equipment.

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