ESP Saved My Life (And My Car)

[sorzai]

Hello Guys!!

As some may know recently I got a new Jetta =D

However the other day I almost lost it because some stupid *&**(*^ didn't give way at and intersection and pulled out half way I had to swerve really hard to the right then quickly back to the left like within 1 sec and to make it worse it was a wet day on the roads

Luckily I had my new Jetta with ESP I saw the light blink after I got back on the lane and had my horn going for like FOREVER!! thanks to the new car that i'm safe and my baby is safe


Anyone have any near misses where the ESP helped make turn a worse case to something that was no fuss please share!! I want to know how good these safety system really say they are

[maca]

I came around a bend and there was a tree fallen onto the road (typical cliche ESP moment)... I turned hard (as the bend was about 80km/h) and I felt the rear right wheel lock up to prevent me from sliding out.

It's moment like these that truly make you appreciate and justify buying a safe car.

[Idle]

I had a semi driver try to change lanes to his left on the freeway — didn't see me almost in front of him (should have, we were doing the same speed (100k) and I'd been there for about 2k) and hit my RH rear door with his bullbar.

The car went up on two wheels, the wheel was jerked out of my hands, spun this way and that, I felt the brakes go on and the car settled back on four wheels, still within its lane, tracking straight and not even greatly slowed.

Without ESP I'm pretty sure it would have spun into the line of traffic on my left — possibly even wound up with the nose of my car (and me?) under the trailer. The possible outcomes of that don't even bear thinking about.

As it was, about $5000 of his employer's money fixed it (the Golf, that is — it took a lot longer for my nervous system to recover (not so sure it has even now, over a year later)).

Definitely sold on stability control after that one — it "thought" and acted much quicker than I could have done, the more particularly since I had a clear road ahead, was aware of the traffic around me and had no warning that anything was even likely to happen (and in my mid 80's I don't react like I did half a century ago when I used to race the things...)

[MACCAA]

I hope all the "good drivers" who "don't need ESP" and switch it off on the road are reading this.
There are times when you least expect it that a little help is very handy.Nobody can see around corners,or be ready,with NO warning for any of the othe scenarios above.
Turning it off on the Track is OK when you're[hopefully] prepared to react,but turning it off on the road is dumb.
ALL of the guys I've worked with in Advanced Driver Training leave ESP ON for the road,and I'll venture they're a damn site better drivers than most.

[sorzai]

i totally agree with everything on this post...it's only idiots that drive with ESP on...why on earth would car manufacturers spend millions on R&D and for someone to turn it off....it's really stupid

I must say it's always the unexpected when you require the use of ESP like many have known the hard ways...often a tree on the road around the bend or a kangaroo or like in my case a car failing to give way

Love my Jetta baby!!

[Maverick]

i totally agree with everything on this post...it's only idiots that drive with ESP on...why on earth would car manufacturers spend millions on R&D and for someone to turn it off....it's really stupid

Not really when you put it into the context that ESP is rarely used whereas other parts of the car are used all the time and play a critical role in your safety.

What are used constantly is the tyres yet plenty of people here are happy to compromise their safety and that of others on the road with cheap rubbish tyres to save a dollar. Volkswagen publish a list of recommended tyres for the car and you won't see Kuhmo UltraCrap tyres listed on it nor any of the other long life but poorly performing tyres.

And on the same subject how many people check their tyres of a regular basis and by that I mean regular checks of the condition of them and weekly checking of tyre pressures? Having tyres that are not maintained is a hell of a lot more likely to result in a crash than having ESP switch off. And poorly maintained/cheap tyres will see ESP cut in sooner than expected and will limit how effective it is.

Cleaning the windscreen/windows all play a part as well and of course there are plenty who think fitting a tint that is 20% doesn't compromise their safety nor that of other road users when it's a scientifically proven fact that window tint even at 35% results in reduced visibility in low light situations.

So turning off ESP isn't as bad as is being made out when put it the context that it's unlikely many people will even experience it's operation in their life whereas braking, grip and visibility all play a much great role in day to day safety.

[sorzai]

What are used constantly is the tyres yet plenty of people here are happy to compromise their safety and that of others on the road with cheap rubbish tyres to save a dollar. Volkswagen publish a list of recommended tyres for the car and you won't see Kuhmo UltraCrap tyres listed on it nor any of the other long life but poorly performing tyres.

Totally agree with that again....don't forget guys the tyres are the only thing that is making contact with the floor and thats the only thing that decides between going in the intended direction and going off course...you choose a nice VW for it's safety and whatever else...so please don't compromise your safety of yourself or others just to save maybe a couple of dollars

So turning off ESP isn't as bad as is being made out when put it the context that it's unlikely many people will even experience it's operation in their life whereas braking, grip and visibility all play a much great role in day to day safety.

Put it this way....we won't turn off our airbags in our cars that are equipped with them so why turn off ESP when we have it equipped in our cars.....it's something that you will never know when you will use it but when you do you will notice the benefits it's something that you will never know unless you can predict the future

[brad]

What are used constantly is the tyres yet plenty of people here are happy to compromise their safety and that of others on the road with cheap rubbish tyres to save a dollar. Volkswagen publish a list of recommended tyres for the car and you won't see Kuhmo UltraCrap tyres listed on it nor any of the other long life but poorly performing tyres.

Mav, could you link to the list please? I'd be really interested to have a browse.

Kumhos are pretty good Mav, I'd rate them.
It's the Wanli, Iron Horse, Firestone, Nexen, Maxxis, Bob Jane Out-of-Rounder, Xenon that scare me. Hell, even the brand name offerings can be a worry (Goodyear F1 GSD3 springs to mind).

Could be worse, people could be fitting retreads & tubes - that used to make up 15% of the market back in the '80s ;-p

[gerhard]

I had a semi driver try to change lanes to his left on the freeway — didn't see me almost in front of him (should have, we were doing the same speed (100k) and I'd been there for about 2k) and hit my RH rear door with his bullbar.

The car went up on two wheels, the wheel was jerked out of my hands, spun this way and that, I felt the brakes go on and the car settled back on four wheels, still within its lane, tracking straight and not even greatly slowed.

Without ESP I'm pretty sure it would have spun into the line of traffic on my left — possibly even wound up with the nose of my car (and me?) under the trailer. The possible outcomes of that don't even bear thinking about.

As it was, about $5000 of his employer's money fixed it (the Golf, that is — it took a lot longer for my nervous system to recover (not so sure it has even now, over a year later)).

Definitely sold on stability control after that one — it "thought" and acted much quicker than I could have done, the more particularly since I had a clear road ahead, was aware of the traffic around me and had no warning that anything was even likely to happen (and in my mid 80's I don't react like I did half a century ago when I used to race the things...)

Man, you are braver than me.

I would NEVER sit beside a truck for 2k while travelling at 100k, and would NEVER block a truck from moving to the left lane where he should be travelling.

To me that's just asking for what happened to you.

You had a clear road ahead, you were doing 100k, were aware of the traffic around you (most would notice the Semi beside their door), why the hell were you blocking the semi from getting back to the left lane where he should have been.

A simple touch on the brake 2k earlier would have seen the truck well past you.

[DNA Tuning]

It's good to hear you're OK.

I just hope that all this technology isn't resulting in the general population losing touch with the act of driving, and driving well.

[logger]

I hope all the "good drivers" who "don't need ESP" and switch it off on the road are reading this.

This must be a MK5 thing MACCAA. VW accounted for all the "good drivers" when designing the MK6. On the MK6 and Tiguan, pressing the ESP OFF button merely disables the Traction Control (TCS) component within ESP. So your "good drivers" will think they have disabled ESP when all they have done is turned TCS off. All the other ESP functions such as the one that helped sorzai remain ON permanently. Dead easy to test if you ever venture beyond the tarmac. Just throw the back end out on some loose gravel with ESP OFF and you will see it still works on the MK6 at least.

[Idle]

Man, you are braver than me.

I would NEVER sit beside a truck for 2k while travelling at 100k, and would NEVER block a truck from moving to the left lane where he should be travelling.

To me that's just asking for what happened to you.

You had a clear road ahead, you were doing 100k, were aware of the traffic around you (most would notice the Semi beside their door), why the hell were you blocking the semi from getting back to the left lane where he should have been.

A simple touch on the brake 2k earlier would have seen the truck well past you.

On that particular freeway there's no compulsion on trucks to keep left (it's likely to be introduced in the future, but only to the far right lane) — I've often seen semi's three abreast, and this one was actually in the far right lane when I joined the road, between there and the point of impact he'd moved over one lane, which is why he was (almost) beside me.

And I was NOT blocking him from moving to the left — I was quietly minding my own business in the lane I'd been in since getting on that road. All he had to do was lift his right foot a little and I'd have been fully in front of him (not to mention that it was up to him to let me know if he wanted the space I was on — I'm no great shakes as a mind reader...).

Incidentally, it was a bonnetted prime mover and I must have been in clear view through the windscreen for several minutes before he moved over (I could see him quite clearly perched behind his wheel, lycra jacket and all, so he MUST have seen me) — I think he just forgot I was there, glanced in his mirror, saw the way was clear from there back and pulled over without further thought.

As for NEVER driving beside a truck — if you've done much travelling on major highways you'll know very well that there's often no choice, dropping back only puts you beside the one behind him. I agree that it doesn't do much for one's nervous system to be running alongside a wheel that's head high and less than a metre from your right ear, but such is life on the road these days.

And I think even that is less nerve-wracking than to be trailing one behemoth and being tailgated by another — far too often I've felt like the meat in a sandwich.

[MACCAA]

It's good to hear you're OK.

I just hope that all this technology isn't resulting in the general population losing touch with the act of driving, and driving well.

No chance of that.They've been driving crap for years before the technology kicked in.....

[sorzai]

No chance of that.They've been driving crap for years before the technology kicked in.....

hahah!! totally agree!! it's just not in our culture to drive well on the roads compared to Germany where people not only learn how to drive but they also learn manners on the roads and how to give way and when to give way and stuff like that

OWELL what can you do but just to introduce technology to help people avoid dangerous situations

[balkanac]

all these electronics are nice to have and they do save lives but, as someone said before, people are relying too much on them. I drive a bmw 318is e30 every day that has none of these things and i enjoy it much more than the R. i can feel exactly what the car is diong at every moment and if you respect the road rules and other drivers you will be fine. Most of the time these electronics will save you from having a minor accident but if something is about to happen it just will.
For little accidents i have insurance and for big ones i have a solid car and my brain.
So i'd rather drive a car that i enjoy than rely on something that might break down and not work when you need it. ESP in my R cuts in way too early and it takes away the enjoyment of driving.
If government really wants to save lives like they claim with speed cameras and such maybe they should educate the drivers better, like in europe. I dont see how can your mum teach you to drive an auto and you pass the driving and you are safe??? In my opinion that is totally wrong. noone teaches you how to feel the car or what to do in a bad situation, or, more importantly, how not to put yourself or others in a bad situation. i see too many people cutting everyone off and think just because they waived it makes it ok.
My 2c