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Govt makes ESC manadatory from 2011

The Australian Government has finally bitten the bullet on the life-saving Electronic Stability Control (ESC) technology, announcing that it will become part of the Australian Design Rules (ADR) from 2011.


Holden, whose Chairman and Managing Director, Mark Reuss, is also the current President of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industry (FCAI) has been quick to support the move.

In a statement Holden said it welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to introduce a new ADR making ESC, originally developed by Mercedes-Benz, mandatory on all new passenger cars and SUVs.

Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Anthony Albanese, announced today in Canberra the new regulation would come into effect from 2011.

Speaking at the event, Mr Reuss praised the Government’s decision to introduce a standardised national approach to vehicle safety rather than allowing a state-by-state roll out to occur.

“Mainstreaming ESC technology in passenger cars and SUVs will save lives – it is as simple as that,” Mr Reuss said.

“This new regulation supports what Holden is already committed to achieving – that every next generation Holden, including light commercial vehicles, will have ESC as standard, if not already standard.

“ESC greatly improves vehicle safety performance and is probably the most significant advance in vehicle safety since seatbelts were made compulsory in the early 1970s.

“ESC is all about avoiding crashes – fitting ESC as standard is absolutely the right thing to do for all motorists.”

Holden has equipped its entire range of locally built vehicles with the acclaimed safety technology as standard, including the Holden Ute.

ESC is widely acclaimed because it helps drivers avoid crashes where emergency action has been taken, rather than focusing on minimising harm if they do crash. International studies have suggested that ESC can prevent more than 30 per cent of single vehicle accidents.

ESC greatly improves vehicle safety performance in situations where the driver takes emergency action to avoid a collision. It does this by electronically correcting vehicle paths through individually applying brakes to each wheel and managing engine torque.

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