[inscionent]

Air bags were 'installed before they were required' because auto manufactures in the US were given a 7 year period to add them, not out of competition based on safety. This only after a decade of the auto industry fighting to keep those safety features from being required, exactly because the auto makers were worried about profits and not consumer safety.

"A Federal agency today abandoned the longdisputed requirement that automobile manufacturers install automatic crash protection, such as airbags or ''passive'' safety belts.

The action by the agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drew immediate protest from safety groups and praise from the automobile industry."

https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/24/us/airbag-regulation-on-c...