HIGHWAY SAFETY Toyota RAV4 ranked No. 1 in crash tests

The institute wants automakers to make head-protecting air bags standard.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The 2004 Toyota RAV4 got the highest ratings on both front and side crash tests performed by the insurance industry, but only when tested with its optional side air bags.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said the RAV4 was the first vehicle to earn its "best pick" designation for both front and side tests. The institute began performing side-impact crash tests last year.
When tested without its side-impact air bags, however, the RAV4 received the institute's lowest rating of poor in the side test.
Adrian Lund, chief operating officer of the Insurance Institute, said he hoped the results would encourage Toyota and other manufacturers to make head-protecting side air bags standard.
Toyota spokeswoman Martha Voss said Toyota now charges $680 for the optional head-protecting air bag that deploys from the ceiling and a side-protecting air bag that deploys from the seat of the RAV4.
Air bags' effectiveness
Lund stressed that head-protecting air bags can reduce by 45 percent the chances of serious injury in a crash, while side air bags, designed to protect the chest and abdomen, reduce chances of injury by only 10 percent.
The institute also released results for the 2005 Subaru Legacy sedan, which earned a "best pick" in the frontal crash test but the second-lowest rating on the side-impact test even though it has standard side air bags.
The insurance institute tested both vehicles because they have been redesigned recently.