Ford Motor Company has announced that it will make electronic stability control a standard feature on all of its models by the end of 2009. Although SUVs and rollovers have taken the brunt of the criticism, other traction-related crashes have piqued the interest of federal regulators. As we reported earlier, some in Washington have proposed a timeline, by which all vehicles sold within the United States will be required to come standard with some form of a stability control system. Ford maintains that its own roll out of traction control equipped vehicles will be well ahead of the proposed federal regulations.
Ford has had a few lawsuits regarding rollovers over the course of the last few years, making the company a target for electronic stability control proponents. Electronic stability control would prevent nearly one in three accidents, according to a study done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
[Source: BusinessWeek]