I’m an avid supporter of the implementation of ESP (or ESC etc), understand how it works (just), and wholeheartedly believe it should be a no-cost inclusion on new cars.

But up until recently I never appreciated just how much of lifesaver the technology could be.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this – if anti skid control is doing its job then you shouldn’t notice it. That’s half the point. I’m certain that many a small (or not so small) ding has been saved in the past 10 years without the driver being any the wiser.

At the exclusive preview of the new BMW 7-series I was able to see just what an important job the technology does.

We were at BMW’s private testing ground in France on a typically warm dry day, but the track we were on was sopping wet. BMW had turned on the sprinklers to show us the difference between the four settings in their Dynamic Drive Control system.

Starting in Normal, we switched to Sport and Sport+. The back end of the big rear-wheel drive car twitched more and more on the soaked surface as the suspension firmed up and the electronic wizardry intervened less.

So far so good. It was all fun and while the back end had drifted out on a couple of occasions I still retained control.

We were then given the choice of turning off all the technology. As this was a controlled and safe environment I took the opportunity to see just what a difference anti-skid tech makes. I drove at the same speeds and in the same style as before.

For the first couple of corners everything was just about ok. The big luxurious German slid around but stayed pointing forwards. Then it all went horribly wrong.

A little too much acceleration on the exit of the fourth corner saw the back of the car catching up with the front. I did everything in my power to adjust but the laws of physics had taken over. The 7-series shot off the track and completed a full pirouette before coming to a halt.

It turned out I was not the only one to lose it – at least three other journalists slid off the track or spun. These are motoring journalists who have driven thousands of cars between them, gone on countless driving courses on road and track and none of whom were doing more than 50mph.

If I wasn’t sold on the importance of the technology, I am now. The announcement that anti-skid will be mandatory on all new cars from 2012 seems all the more welcome.