Many car buyers in Hong Kong are not being offered the choice of an advanced safety technology - ESC (Electronic Stability Control) - either as standard or optional equipment in their cars.
This revelation came to light in a test report released by the Consumer Council today (October 15). The test was conducted by the Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme).
In addition to the test, the Council has surveyed the extent of availability of ESC in corresponding car models in Hong Kong.
ESC is a technology that can turn potentially serious accidents into near misses and drastically reduce accident occurrence, though it is not necessarily unsafe without ESC.
Out of 18 test models, so far 7 could be positively confirmed to have ESC fitted as standard equipment in the Hong Kong market.
The local agents of 2 models have acknowledged that the models concerned were not fitted with ESC as standard equipment, though one offered ESC only as optional equipment. But in most European countries, ESC is fitted as standard equipment in these 2 models.
The rest have either declined to comment or claimed to be planning to extend ESC to buyers in Hong Kong.
Manufacturers first began equipping vehicles with ESC in particular to expensive, premium brands than to cheaper models in mid 1990s in Europe.
In the event of a skid starting to happen, ESC is activated automatically, in a fraction of a second, by applying the brakes at individual wheels, and thus helping to keep the car under control before the skid develops.
The electronic control unit reacts much more quickly than even the best driver, applying the brakes to individual wheels which a driver cannot, whether the skid is the result of an emergency avoidance manoeuvre or an error of judgement.
Recent studies in Europe have estimated that ESC can reduce the risk of accidents by some 20 percent in normal road conditions and 30 percent in wet conditions. Further, if all cars in Europe would be equipped with ESC, approximately 4,000 deaths and 100,000 injuries could be avoided every year.
Euro NCAP believes that ESC should be fitted as standard equipment to all cars in all countries; and that ESC should be available to all consumers in all countries.
The European Union has recently decided to make ESC mandatory for all new passenger cars from November 2011.
Consumers should be aware that ESC may not necessarily be fitted as standard equipment when sold in Hong Kong, though it is available to the same models in other countries. Nor is ESC available as optional equipment in many cases.
As ESC cannot be retro-fitted in a car, consumers are advised to make the decision right from the start when buying a car if they wish to choose ESC in their cars.
Secondly, in the test report was emphasized the importance of speed limitation devices in car safety. Excessive speed is a factor in the causation and severity of many road accidents.
In the test was found only 2 models were available with speed limitation systems.
Such safety systems allow the driver to set the speed limit and can actively prevent the car from exceeding that maximum limit; or simply warn the driver when the car's speed is above the set maximum.
Thirdly, the Euro NCAP test has expanded its assessment of adult occupant safety on whiplash protection.
Whiplash is caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the spine. It is not uncommon in frontal and side impact accidents but more often occurs in rear end collisions in urban environments.
In the new rear impact test, the car seat was mounted on a sled subjected to low, moderate and high test severities representing the range of crash forces causing injury. The geometrical aspects of the seat and head restraint were also considered in the assessment.
9 models were rated favourably in the rear impact test reflecting a state of the art performance in whiplash protection. But 2 models were rated poor indicating that the front seat occupant has a significantly higher risk of whiplash injury in the case of a rear end collision.
Besides issues of ESC, speed limitation systems and whiplash protection as well as other safety devices and performance, consumers should also check to find out if the cars they intend to purchase are equipped also with side airbags, knee airbags, and curtain airbags.
Consumers should ascertain with the agents about their availability and, if not, to include them for better safety.
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