http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Stability_ProgramNumerous international studies have confirmed the effectiveness of ESC in helping the driver maintain control of the car and helping to save lives and reduce the severity of crashes. In the fall of 2004 in the U.S., the National 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%. Additionally, sport utility vehicles with stability control are involved in 67 percent fewer accidents than SUVs without the system. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) issued its own study results in 2004 concluding that universal use of ESC could save 7,000 lives a year in the United States. In June 2006, the IIHS released a second study showing that up to 10,000 fatal US crashes could be avoided annually if all vehicles were equipped with ESC[6] The 2006 study concluded that ESC reduces the likelihood of all fatal crashes by 43 percent, fatal single-vehicle crashes by 56 percent, and fatal single-vehicle rollovers by 77-80 percent. ESC is described as the most important advance in auto safety since the seat belt by many experts[7] including Nicole Nason,[8] Administrator of the NHTSA,[9] Jim Guest and David Champion[10] of Consumers Union[11] Max Mosley of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), E-Safety Aware[12], Csaba Csere, editor of Car and Driver[13], and Bill Kozyra, CEO of Continental Automotive Systems[9]. The European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) "strongly recommends" that people buy cars fitted with stability control.[14] On November 21, 2006 the IIHS announced that 13 of the 2007 vehicles had earned its TOP SAFETY PICK rating — although the rating is based primarily on crashworthiness, a major new requirement for this top rating is that the vehicle must be equipped with ESC (which helps avoid crashes).