Report Touts Use of Anti-Rollover Systems

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bout 10,000 fatal automobile crashes a year — nearly one-third of all such accidents — could be prevented if more vehicles were equipped with technology that helps to keep them from rolling over, an insurance industry report said this week, the Associated Press reported.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said electronic stability control technology reduced the risk of single-vehicle rollovers involving sport utility vehicles by 80%, and 77% for passenger cars, AP said.

Researchers said it reduced the risk of fatal crashes by 43%. If all vehicles had stability control, it could prevent as many as 10,000 of the 34,000 fatal crashes on the nation’s highways each year, it estimated, AP reported.

Stability control, which automatically applies brakes to individual wheels if they sense a vehicle is veering off course, has become more widely available in recent years, especially on SUVs and pickup trucks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated that 70% of new SUVs have stability control as standard equipment. The Institute said the feature was standard on 40% of all 2006 passenger vehicles and optional on another 15% from the 2006 model year, AP said.

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