US crash testing proves value of side airbags

The effectiveness of side airbags has again been highlighted following the latest round of crash tests by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The IIHS subjected eight vehicles to the testing procedure, which simulated the effects of a large SUV or pick-up truck hitting the side of a lower-slung family car.

Side impacts are the second most common type of fatal incident in the US (after frontal impacts), according to the IIHS, with 9700 people killed in side-on collisions in 2004.

Of the eight vehicles (mainly domestic models) tested, the latest Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Avalon (not the same car as the imminent local-market Aurion) were rated ‘good’ for the protection they offered in a side impact;

The Hyundai Azera (known as the Granduer in Australia) was rated ‘acceptable’, while the Chrysler 300C was rated as ‘marginal’, even with side airbags fitted.

The US-market-only Ford Five Hundred and Crown Victoria, tested without their optional side airbags, were rated ‘poor’, despite the Five Hundred achieving a ‘good’ result in tests last year on versions with the side airbags.

Interestingly, IIHS statistics show that, in crashes involving many newer vehicles, drivers are more likely to die in side-on impacts than in frontal crashes, because while front airbags are now standard fare in most vehicles, side airbags are fitted in only a minority.

Side impacts also account for significant casualties in Australia. A Monash University Accident Research Centre study has shown that 25 per cent of serious casualties and 28 per cent of fatalities to vehicle occupants in Victoria occurred from side-on collisions.

“Growing sales of SUVs and pick-up trucks have exacerbated height mismatches among passenger vehicles and these mismatches increase the risk of serious head injuries among occupants of side-struck vehicles,” said an IIHS spokesman.

“These new crash test results show that improvements are beginning to be made for protection in serious side impacts.”

In addition to praising the effectiveness of side airbags, the IIHS has also given the thumbs-up to head-protecting curtain airbags.