Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler AG and used originally for Mercedes-Benz. ESP compares the driver's intended direction in steering and braking inputs, to the vehicle's response, via lateral acceleration, rotation (yaw) and individual wheel speeds. ESP then brakes individual front or rear wheels and/or reduces excess engine power as needed to help correct understeer (plowing) or oversteer (fishtailing). ESP also integrates all-speed traction control, which senses drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brakes the slipping wheel or wheels, and/or reduces excess engine power, until control is regained. ESP cannot override a car's physical limits. If a driver pushes the possibilities of the car's chassis and ESP too far, ESP cannot prevent an accident.

Stability control equipment is now generally know as electronic stability control or ESC, a category recognized by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Electronic stability control combines anti-lock brakes, traction control and yaw control (yaw is spin around a vertical axis). To grasp how it works, think of steering a canoe. If you want the canoe to turn or rotate to the right, you plant the paddle in the water on the right to provide a braking moment on the right side. The canoe pivots or rotates to the right. ESC fundamentally does the same to assist the driver. Numerous international studies have confirmed the effectiveness of ESC in helping the driver maintain control of the car, help save lives and reduce the severity of crashes. In the fall of 2004 in the U.S., the Natiional Highway and Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the international studies, releasing results of a field study in the U.S. of ESC effectiveness. NHTSA concluded that ESC reduces crashes by 35%. The prestigious Insurance Institure for highway safety later issued their own study that concluded the widespread application of ESC could save 7,000 lives a year. That makes ESC the greatest safety equipment development since seat belts, according to some experts. Other manufacturers use electronic stability control systems under different marketing names:

• Audi: shares the Mercedes-Benz ESP - Electronic Stabilization Program
• BMW: Dynamic Stability Control(DSC), inluding Dynamic Traction Control
• Cadillac: All-Speed Traction Control & StabiliTrak
• Jaguar: Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
• Lexus: Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Traction Control (TRAC) systems
• Volvo: Stability and Traction Control (STC), Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC), & Traction Control (TRACS)

Ford: AdvanceTrac GM: StabiliTrac VW: ESP