Richard Schooling’s Blog: 21 June 2007

A stable relationship

Michael Schumacher has never played particularly well with British audiences. Perhaps that’s why last month’s launch of a pan-European campaign promoting electronic stability control (ESC) raised barely a ripple of interest over here.

The European Commission is using the seven-times world F1 champion to spearhead its ChooseESC! campaign, aimed at persuading consumers to ask for cars fitted with skid control technology.

ESC’s proponents claim that around 40% of fatal crashes involve a skid but that ESC can prevent 80% of skidding accidents. If so, fleets should certainly think about building it into their policy requirements.

All the same, it’s a bit of mystery why the EC picked Formula One as its campaign partner. For one thing, ESC and other devices that count as safety aids for the rest of us are banned in F1 to level the technological playing field.

And Formula 1’s ringmasters continue to distance their sport (and the billions it turns over) from Europe because of the region’s ban on tobacco advertising.

But I suppose there’s no stronger endorsement than the support of F1 when it comes to selling technological wizardry to the car-buying public.

Nevertheless, motor racing and politics make a volatile mix, as our soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister found out over the Bernie Ecclestone affair a few years ago.

No doubt Viviane Redy, the EC commissioner who jointly heads up ChooseESC! with FIA President Max Moseley, is hoping that their alliance doesn’t end up putting the skids under an important safety initiative.

Till next time,

Richard

PS. The UK finally got round to publicly endorsing ESC on Monday (18 June). That was five whole weeks after the official European campaign launch.