Arval is making electronic stability control (ESC) standard on all vehicles within its company car choice list.

It says that all fleets should follow suit.

“Around 40% of fatal road accidents are a result of skidding and studies show that ESC could dramatically reduce this,” said Arval fleet manager, Tracey Young.

“The benefits are broad as ESC does not just make drivers safer, it also helps fleets to meet their ongoing duty of care responsibilities and reduce their accident costs.

"With this in mind we believe that fleets should be making the technology a standard requirement when selecting vehicles.”

David Fulker, head of UK & Ireland marketing at Bosch Automotive also believes that every company car should be fitted with the technology:

“If more fleets ensured that car choice is restricted to vehicles with ESC, we would see an immediate improvement to the safety of company car drivers and other road users and our roads would be less dangerous.

"Arval ought to be congratulated for taking this step.”