From: utzoo!watmath!dmmartindale Newsgroups: net.auto Title: Re: one more on belts Article-I.D.: watmath.3340 Posted: Wed Aug 18 23:50:32 1982 Received: Thu Aug 19 01:36:58 1982 References: utzoo.2391 I very much doubt if airbags will ever be close to seatbelts in effectiveness. Seatbelts (lap+shoulder) do a good job of preventing you from going forward or up, and a fair job of preventing side movement. Basically, they try to hold you in your seat. Airbags, on the other hand, provide something soft to crash into while you're in the process of flying out of your seat. To provide protection in as many directions of movement, you'd have to be surrounded by them. Also, they are good for exactly one impact - they deflate before they can be useful in a second impact in a multi-car collision.