[canadam]

Originally Posted by MANDALAY

But im curious that UK didnt legislate steering air bag till after 1995 ?

You'll notice even all late model MKIIs in Japan don't necessarily have driver side airbags. The passenger side seems sporadic too.

Air bags become mandatory

On July 11, 1984, the U.S. government required cars being produced after April 1, 1989 to have driver's side air bags or automatic seat belts (the automatic seat belt was a technology, now discarded, that "forced" motorists to wear seatbelts). Airbag introduction was stimulated by the U.S. DOT.[11] However, airbags were not mandatory on light trucks until 1995.[citation needed]


In 1998, dual front airbags were mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and de-powered, or second-generation air bags were also mandated. This was due to the injuries caused by first-generation air bags that were designed to be powerful enough to restrain people who were not wearing seatbelts.


In the United Kingdom and most other developed countries there is no direct legal requirement for new cars to feature airbags. Instead, the compulsory Euro NCAP vehicle safety rating encourages manufacturers to take a comprehensive approach to occupant safety; a good rating can only be achieved by combining air bags with other safety features.[12] Thus almost all new cars now come with at least two airbags as standard.