This is a video demonstrating BMW's Dynamic Stability Control which is what they have chosen to call their version of Electronic Stability Control which is the more commonly used name for this type of systems.
According to Wikipedia Electronic Stability Control or ESC is the generic term for systems designed to improve the vehicle's handling, particularly at the limits where the driver might lose control.
International studies have confirmed that ESC is effective in helping the driver maintaining control of the car, a study by NHTSA concluded that ESC reduces crashes by 35%. IIHS concluded that 10.000 fatal crashes could be avoided annually in USA, which makes ESC the greatest safety equipment since the seat belts.
However the critics of ESC think that it removes the ability to explore the dynamic behaviour of the cars and making the cars less fun to drive. It has also been argued that ESC is used as a solution for poorly designed cars where ESC is used to compensate for the unstable mechanical handling of the car. One example of ESC being used to compensate for poor stability is the Mercedes A-class which failed horrible in the moose test and was later retrofitted with ESC to fix the problem.
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Category: Auto Videos, Video viewed 2702 times.
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There are 2 comments on this video.
bummer... that means no drifting ;)
Spunned on December 27, 2006.
Thank good I think that BMW is one of the nicer companies that lets you dissable the ESC system when you want to have some fun.
