Manufacturers should follow the lead of Honda, Nissan and Toyota in making head-protecting side air bags standard in their minivans. Important safety equipment like this shouldn't be optional.

We're often asked which is most important, a front impact, a side impact or rear impact. And the fact is, you never know what kind of crash you're gonna be in. So what you want, and what we tell people, is to choose a vehicle that does well in all three.

But good head restraint geometry by itself isn't sufficient. A seat has to be designed so it doesn't move backward and away from the head during a rear impact. A seat also needs to 'give' so an occupant will sink into it, moving the head closer to the restraint.

The heads of both dummies were protected from being hit by any hard structures, including the intruding test barrier. Side airbags, especially those designed to protect the head, are key in reducing risks to people in side impacts. The Institute's test represents a crash in which the striking vehicle has a tall front end like a pickup or SUV, so head protection is critical.

Don't blindly follow any leader.

Bumpers that bump apparently weren't a consideration during the design phase ... Designing good bumpers is no great engineering challenge ... but unless this is a priority we're going to continue seeing many manufacturers using inferior designs.