Making side air bags standard would significantly reduce deaths and injuries, an insurance industry lobbying group said in releasing results of a new side-impact crash test.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety called on automakers to install side air bags on all vehicles to protect occupants from side collisions, the second-highest cause of occupant deaths after frontal collisions.
The federal government mandates driver and front passenger air bags, but does not require side air bags, which are standard or optional on about two-thirds of new models sold in the United States.
The institute said its new test more accurately measures the effects of a truck or SUV running into the side of another vehicle than a similar side-impact test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA’s side-impact test used a car-shaped barrier at 38 mph
In the insurance institute’s test, a movable barrier with the shape and height of a pickup or SUV was crashed into the side of 12 compact SUVs at 31 mph.
The Subaru Forester and Ford Escape scored the highest ratings, "good," and the Hyundai Santa Fe scored "acceptable." They were equipped with side air bags designed to protect the head and torso.
None of the others had side air bags.
"We hope this test gets more manufacturers to make side air bags standard equipment. The only vehicles that got a good or acceptable rating were those offering side bags for head and chest protection," said Adrian Lund, chief operating officer of the institute, based in Arlington, Va.
The institute chose compact SUVs for its first round of side-impact tests because of their popularity. It plans future tests of other types of vehicles.
Lund lauded the auto industry for voluntarily offering side air bags, but said he hopes the test results will encourage making them standard.
"We think our tests push the manufacturers to react," he said. "We aren’t going to push a federal standard, but we would support such a standard. Regulation is a much slower route to take than consumer information."
Consumers may be confused by the results of the institute’s test because on some models they conflict with side-impact ratings issued by NHTSA, the federal auto safety agency.
The Honda CR-V, Saturn VUE and Toyota RAV4 received five-star ratings from NHTSA, the agency’s highest.
In NHTSA’s test, the CR-V had optional side air bags that protect the torso and the VUE had optional curtain-type side air bags that deploy from above the windows to protect occupants’ heads.
Those features were not on the CR-V or VUE crashed by the institute, whose test measures injury potential to dummies placed in the front and rear seats.
Lund said the institute only tested models with side air bags if they were standard. If the air bags were optional, manufacturers were offered the option of furnishing a second vehicle with air bags installed. After a Ford Escape scored "poor" without air bags, Ford provided a second version with the air bags installed, and it earned the top rating.
NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson would not comment on the insurance institute’s test. He said the agency is studying ways to improve side-impact protection and expects to propose stronger rules later this year.
However, that probably will not include a mandate for side air bags, he said. The current regulation is a "performance-standard," meaning that specific features are not required but vehicles have to meet injury standards.
"Traditionally, the agency has used a performance standard rather than mandating certain technology. I don’t think that will change," Tyson said. A performance standard allows automakers to develop new protective devices, such as they did with side air bags.
Prices vary for optional side air bags, depending on the type of protection they provide. Side curtains are a $395 option on the VUE. On the CR-V, seat-mounted side air bags that protect the torso add $250.
Some manufacturers offer such features only on more expensive models. Mitsubishi, for example, includes side air bags in a $1,450 option package available only on the Outlander XLS, the most expensive version.
Though consumers often say safety features are priorities in their purchasing decisions, in a showroom they may opt to buy chrome wheels or a more potent stereo instead.
"The availability of side air bags influences some consumers, but the influence is erratic," said Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research, which tracks industry trends.
"To some who buy small SUVs, air bags are critical, but they aren’t to the majority of buyers."
In a recent survey by CNW, consumers ranked side air bags as the 12th most important attribute in buying decisions. Among items ranked higher were interior comfort, ergonomics and the monthly payment.
