Most motor manufacturers strive to design their vehicles so they are more appealing and roadworthy than their competitors. Consumers nowadays are more demanding than ever, wanting good looks, superior driving quality, efficient fuel consumption as well as high safety ratings. In order to sell in this competitive market place, the motor manufacturers have to get their product right so that it appeals to the needs and wants of their customer. It can be argued that loyalty to a particularly car brand is not as high as it once as, with drivers becoming more concerned about which car fulfills all their requirements rather than the brand name.
One area which manufacturers have been focusing on, which is important to all customers is vehicle safety. When out on the roads it is important to know that the car you are driving will stand up well should the worse happen and you are involved in a crash. Developments in this area over the last years have included better energy absorbing structures, improved seats and airbags. While there is no doubt that the new cars on the roads today are safer than then their predecessors ten to fifteen years ago, crashes still occur which result in injury and death. In order to stay ahead many car manufacturers are now focusing on crash avoidance systems.
These systems aim to prevent crashes before they happen rather than protect the car’s occupants when a crash occurs. One of the first crash avoidance systems to be introduced in newer cars was antilock brakes (ABS). This was a new braking system, which took effect when emergency braking was initiated. ABS brakes were designed to ensure that the brakes worked at their most effective in these extreme conditions allowing full steering control to be maintained and reduce the likelihood of skidding. From ABS came the development of more recent technology known as Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which aimed to regain stability in a vehicle that had lost control and began to slide. This system worked through sensors that were able to detect that the car was beginning to slide and had deviated off its intended course. When this problem occurred the ESC would automatically apply braking power to each of the wheels individually in order to divert the car back on to its original course and prevent any further sliding from occurring. This system works particularly well when a driver loses control of a vehicle by driving too quickly round a bend or if they need to take fast evasive action to avoid something in the road. When a car begins to slide or spin it can be very difficult for a driver to recover full control, especially as most people have limited experience of handling this type of maneuver. Whilst neither ABS nor ESC can be a substitute for good driving, statistics for both show that they are effective in helping reduce accidents. This should be a plus point for both consumers and motor Insurance companies alike, and may even be the deciding factor in which cars sell and which don’t.