WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bendix has applauded the long-awaited National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ruling that will require heavy trucks to be equipped with electronic stability control.

The rule, announced yesterday, will affect all Class 7 and 8 trucks with a gross vehicle weighting greater than 11,793 kgs. The regulation will be phased in starting in August 2017, when most three-axle tractors will be affected.

Bendix has long been a proponent of mandating full electronic stability, rather than just roll stability, which works in fewer scenarios.

“At Bendix, we always prefer to let the market be the catalyst to drive safety technology adoption. We believe ESC stands alone in terms of safety, performance, and value. And we have also seen a market acceptance of this technology – over RSC – at a rate of three to one,” said Fred Andersky, Bendix director of government and industry affairs. “This technology is another positive step on the part of our industry toward helping to further improve highway safety.”

“In our view, the market had already made its technology choice known prior to the formal introduction of NHTSA’s rule. Industry-wide, full stability is outselling roll-only technology three to one, up from three to two in previous years,” Andersky added. “The increasing adoption of ESC demonstrates the willingness by fleets to invest in the technology because of full stability’s ability to help reduce the number of heavy truck accidents, improve safety records, and deliver the return on investment that fleets need.”