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Someone told me that some of the safest cars have side air bags. Being hit from the side seems like the most deadly form of accident that you can have (unless you go off a cliff of course). So why isn't it now mandatory that cars have air bags for more than head-on collisions?
How much do you want the government to dictate what you are forced to buy? Side air bags are safer in side collisions. They aren't free. So requiring them makes vehicles more expensive.
You can choose to buy a vehicle with them, or not. Your choice.
How much do you want the government to dictate what you are forced to buy? Side air bags are safer in side collisions. They aren't free. So requiring them makes vehicles more expensive.
You can choose to buy a vehicle with them, or not. Your choice.
Well said. I wouldn't doubt however that side air bags will be required on all vehicles in the near future.
Hoffdano - we require seat belts, and now front air bags...why not side air bags.
Because adults should be allowed to conduct their own cost-benefit analysis, that's why.
Why not require helmets? They're a hell of a lot cheaper than airbags and the single-most effective way to reduce serious injuries and fatalities. Why not mandate HANS devices? That'll reduce the severity of spinal injuries even more. Why not mandate a roll cage? Why not mandate Brembo 6-piston calipers?
Man we got bags, we got old bag, air bags, and bags of hot air..... Even sometimes air bags willl KILL ......... The best thing to do is learn how to drive so you don't get into a crash.
Driving isn't tawkin' on the dammned cell phone, It isn't sexting on a PC, It isn't eatting, shaving, or putting on eye make up in the bloomin mirrors.
There is only so much safety that can be built into a tin car of a car and that is exactly what they are today.
ALL of the safest cars have side airbags... and they've been available for quite a while. My 2008 Honda Accord has them and some luxury cars had them in the late 1990s. Cars without side airbags are extremely dangerous if you get hit on the side. Side airbags reduce your risk, but don't make you invincible.
> ALL of the safest cars have side airbags... and they've been available for quite a while.
Maybe I've been around longer- I can remember when they first started to put lap belts into cars. Then shoulder straps. Then the driver air bag. Then passenger. Then side air bags.
It's been a steady progression with years between the first availability in the most expensive cars eventually to a requirement in all cars.
One way to look at this- the luxury cars pay for the research and development, and eventually an innovation moves into mass production and becomes quite cheap.
So why don't all cars have side airbags NOW? Because they are a fairly recent innovation. Wait a few years, or pony up with the cash.
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