......But USA federal law requires the auto crash tests to be performed WITHOUT Seat Belts. The ONLY reason there are airbags in cars in the USA is to conform to the federal crash test laws. If you wear a three point belt, you don't need airbags.
Now,you can argue that SIDE airbags help prevent head and thorax injury in a side collision and I'd go along with that. But an airbag inside your steering wheel is not necessary if you buckle up.
Disaster, did you actually READ the two studies you linked? Neither claims seat belts without airbags are "more dangerous" than seat belts with airbags. They simply state that seat belts AND airbags are better than airbags alone. But say nothing about seat belts alone WITHOUT airbags, except the second article when they discuss side impacts.
Here's a nice article about the law:
Aaron Robinson: Why Are The Feds Bending Over Backward for the Unbelted? - Column - Car and Driver
And here is the statute itself:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.208
Cheers.
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