Ford Motor Co. will make rollover-reducing electronic stability control a standard feature on all new vehicles by the end of 2009, the company said Tuesday in advance of new government rules on the safety technology.
Ford said it was accelerating its plans to standardize the stability control systems, which have become more widely available on sport utility vehicles and pickups as studies have found they can reduce vehicle rollovers and deaths.
“We believe our electronic stability control systems are further improving vehicles safety by helping prevent many accidents from occurring in the first place,” said Sue Cischke, Ford's vice president for environment and safety engineering.
Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford made the announcement in advance of a proposal expected to be released by the government on Thursday mandating the safety technology in the coming years. Ford spokesman Dan Jarvis said the late 2009 deadline would put the company ahead of a timeline expected to be released by federal regulators.
Auto industry officials have touted stability control as the most significant safety development since the air bag. The technology automatically applies brakes to individual wheels if they sense a vehicle is veering off course.
A study released earlier this year by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that 10,000 deaths, nearly one-third of all motor vehicle deaths, could be prevented if passenger vehicles were equipped with it.
