Pole impact

Accident patterns vary from country to country within Europe, but approximately a quarter of all serious-to-fatal injuries happen in side impact collisions. Many of these injuries occur when one car runs into the side of another.

To encourage manufacturers to fit head protection devices, an optional pole or head protection test may be performed, where such safety features are fitted. Side impact head airbags help to protect the head by providing a padding effect and by preventing the head from passing through the window opening.
In the test, the car tested is propelled sideways at 29kph(18mph) into a rigid pole. The pole is relatively narrow, so there is major penetration into the side of the car.

In an impact without the head protecting airbag, a driver's head could hit the pole with sufficient force to cause a fatal head injury.

Typically a head injury criterion of 5000 is possible, five times that which indicates the likelihood of serious brain injury. In contrast, the head injury criterion in these new crash tests with a head protection airbag is around 100 to 300, well below the injury reference value. A side impact airbag with head protection makes this kind of crash survivable despite the severity.