By John Crawley

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government wants to make automakers meet more rigorous crash test standards for side-impact accidents, which claim thousands of lives annually, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The new requirements proposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would effectively hold automakers to their promise to equip all new vehicles with airbag systems that protect the head as well as the torso by the end of the decade. The most advanced systems are side curtain airbags, which drop from the roof and cover the windows.

Just under 10,000 people were killed in side-impact crashes in 2002, about a quarter of all traffic deaths. Regulators estimate tougher standards would save between 700 and 1,000 lives annually and cost the industry roughly $1 billion.

But some safety experts disagree with federal assessments that the new proposal fully addresses concerns about bigger and higher riding light trucks, like sport utilities and pickups, striking the sides of passenger cars.

Recent insurance industry tests found only sedans with the most advanced head-protecting air bags posted acceptable safety scores in tests that simulated an SUV or pickup ramming their sides.

While regulators want to require a new test -- slamming a vehicle into a stationary pole at a 75 degree angle at 20 mph with more sensitive crash dummies inside -- there are no plans now to modify the current government-run crash test to mimic a light truck hitting the side of a car. That test uses a striking barrier with the design characteristics of a car.

Under the new rule, vehicles would have to meet criteria for both the pole test and the current barrier trial. Regulators are confident the pole test raises the bar sharply and covers mismatch safety concerns for now.

"The new pole test more accurately reflects real world crashes where, for example, a vehicle may veer off the road and strike an object," said Jeffrey Runge, administrator of the traffic safety administration.

A source with knowledge of pole test results conducted by the government ahead of the proposal said there are "a lot of vehicles out there that cannot come close to passing it now, even SUVs with side curtain airbags."

Another criticism is the timetable for implementing the new standard - four years after the proposal is finalized. Runge hopes to complete the regulation next year after a public comment period. But most rules take years to finish.

Automakers use a side-impact pole test in some crash analysis and vehicles "perform pretty well," said Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the chief industry lobbying group. "We've seen that side head airbag protection provides a benefit."

Shosteck said it was too early to tell if the regulation, if implemented, would change the industry's approach for side-impact protection. "If there are places where our voluntary commitment and NHTSA's announcement don't precisely meet up, we'll work that out with them," he said.

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