To encourage manufacturers to fit head protection head protection devices, a pole or head protection tests has been added to the Euro NCAP protocols. Side impact airbags help to make this kind of crash survivable. They are also very effective in other types of side impact accidents such as being hit by another vehicle where the bonnet enters the window at head height.

In the new 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.