Ireland among the worst for ESP takeup

According to an article in today's Irish Independent, Ireland ranks at the bottom of the 25 EU member states for takeup of life-saving Electronic Stability Program technology.

The system, first developed by Bosch in the eighties, uses the car's anti-lock braking system to help the driver control the car in the event of a slide. According to the FIA, the driving and motor sport organisation that administers the Euro NCAP crash tests, 35% of all single vehicle accidents could be avoided if ESP were fitted.

The technology is relatively cheap, with ESP costing from as little as €150 to fit to a car, but Irish VRT and VAT can push that price far, far higher, and Irish importers have thus far been reluctant to fit ESP as standard to many popular models. Indeed, this publication has seen instances where a model fitted with standard ESP in Europe has arrived in Ireland with ESP as an option to keep the base price down.

And Irish buyers, it seems, are more interested in speccing up the sound system than fitting an electronic safety net that could save their lives. That could all be about to change, however. Ford recently announced that the new Mondeo will come with ESP as standard, as will, by the end of the year, the S-Max and Galaxy. The popular VW Passat already has ESP as standard and the technology is fitted to all Mercedes-Benz and BMW models as standard. It was Ford which pioneered the standard fitment of a drivers' airbag on the first generation Mondeo in 1993 and it would be unthinkable now to purchase a new car without one. Hopefully, the example of the new Mondeo and others will lead to an industry-wide standard fitment of ESP.

However, fitting ESP as standard would inevitably lead to the cost of new cars rising yet further, unless the next government heeds the calls of the AA and others to eliminate VAT and VRT on such life-saving technology.