UK cars slammed over safety

22nd May 2007

UK driv­ers are at risk because too few mod­els get Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard, experts claim.

The life-saving kit is free on only 55 per cent of new cars sold in the UK, according to a Euro NCAP study. That ranks us 21st out of 25 EU countries surveyed. Denmark came top, with 76 per cent, followed by Sweden and Germany. Latvia, Lithu­ania, Estonia and Slovenia all beat Britain, too. Ireland finished last.

Experts say the technology, which helps drivers in skids, could reduce crashes by more than 20 per cent. Yet as our table shows, some makers only offer it as a cost option, while others don't provide it at all. ESC is not available on big sellers such as Honda's Jazz and Hyundai's Getz. The RAC Foundation's Edmund King said: "We are particularly con­cerned the technology is not offered on some superminis sold in the UK. These tend to be bought by more vulnerable younger drivers, who arg­uably need this protection most."