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Stability device mandatory on new vehicles arriving in New Zealand

Xinhua, July 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

New vehicles imported into New Zealand must now be fitted with mandatory electronic stability control (ESC), Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss announced Wednesday.

All new cars, vans, four-wheel drives and goods vehicles arriving in the country are required to have ESC, Foss said in a statement.

"This will have a significant impact on road safety in New Zealand. Over the next two decades, ESC is expected to prevent hundreds of deaths and thousands of serious injuries," said Foss.

ESC is a crash prevention system that intervenes if it detects a vehicle is about to skid or lose traction.

It can independently control the braking of each wheel to correct the vehicle and pull it back into line.

Research indicated ESC could reduce the risk of crashing due to loss of control by around 30 percent, said Foss.

The government is expected to extend the requirement to imported used vehicles from March next year. Endi