when were airbags made mandatory in the uk
Airbag Some countries outside North America adhere to internationalized European ECE vehicle and equipment regulations rather than the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. ECE airbags are generally smaller and inflate less forcefully than United States airbags, because the ECE specifications are based on belted crash test dummies. In the United Kingdom, and most other developed countries there is no direct legal requirement for new cars to feature airbags. Instead, the Euro NCAP vehicle safety rating encourages manufacturers to take a comprehensive approach to occupant safety; a good rating can only be achieved by combining airbags with other safety features.[100] Thus almost all new cars now come with at least two airbags as standard.
Seat belt American car manufacturers Nash (in 1949) and Ford (in 1955) offered seat belts as options, while Swedish Saab first introduced seat belts as standard in 1958.[8] After the Saab GT 750 was introduced at the New York Motor Show in 1958 with safety belts fitted as standard, the practice became commonplace.[9]