Originally Posted By: thseng

Honestly, current automotive safety systems are so much Mickey Mouse. Race cars don't have airbags or belt tensioners. They have a real harness with a real latch. Yes, I know that's "more expensive" but then again, how much do air bags cost these days?


You left out the roll cage... There is welded a virtually indestructible cage of steel around the volume which the driver + map reader occupies. With that kind of protection + the real harness you don't need air bags. (And the way these guys drive, there is a very real risk that the air bag could be set off during hard landings).