Final answer:
ESC significantly reduces the likelihood of fatal crashes by helping maintain vehicle control during potential skid situations. It works by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels, helping to steer the vehicle as intended and countering potential oversteer or understeer.
Step-by-step explanation:
ESC reduces the likelihood of all fatal crashes significantly. ESC, or Electronic Stability Control, is a vehicle safety feature that detects and reduces loss of traction (skidding). When ESC detects loss of steering control, it automatically applies the brakes to help steer the vehicle where the driver intends to go. Braking is automatically applied to individual wheels, such as the outer front wheel to counter oversteer, or the inner rear wheel to counter understeer. This technology is critical because driver error is a significant factor in many accidents. For example, according to the American Automobile Association, approximately 54 percent of all fatal auto accidents are due to driver error. Safety features like ESC, crumple zones, and airbags are vital in reducing the severity of crashes and saving lives. Regarding the provided statistics, the question about whether the AAA proportion of accidents caused by driver error is accurate can be addressed by conducting a hypothesis test. With a sample of 30 fatal accidents and 14 attributed to driver error, the proportion in the sample is 0.467. At a significance level of a = 0.05, a test would determine if this sample proportion significantly differs from the AAA's reported proportion. Crumple zones protect passengers by a. increasing the time of impact, which reduces the force experienced by the passengers. Additionally, airbag deployment upon impact is another safeguard designed to minimize serious injuries during crashes.