Irish ‘No’ to auto braking

IRISH drivers are the least likely in Europe to have life-saving automatic braking in their cars, despite paying more than the average price for their vehicles.

The technology, introduced 10 years ago, cuts deaths on the road by a fifth and crashes by a third, according to studies. It costs €160 a car.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is particularly useful in wet or icy conditions as it recognises when a skid is about to happen and in a fraction of a second the control unit applies the brakes at individual wheels.

Ireland is bottom of the table for all makes of cars — small, medium and family models — when it comes to having ESC fitted or available as an optional extra.

But 98 of the 101 top-of- the-range cars in the country come with ESC fitted as standard — putting Ireland top of the EU league inexecutive cars.

A survey released by the European Commission and European New Car Assessment Programme shows that, on average, 62% of new cars across the EU are equipped with ESC.

But Ireland is bottom of the table, with ESC standard on 53% of new cars, an optional extra on 19% and not available on 28%.