Incidentally, new regulations do not require air-bags. They do set standards of survivability in crashes and fitting air-bags is one way highly marketable way to meet the standards. NCAP is a research body funded by motoring and insurance organizations. The offset tests are into a crushable pad made of aluminium. All 4WDs performed acceptably.
Drivers face less chance of a serious injury in models fitted with air-bags.
NCAP tests have come in for some industry criticism because they are carried out at a higher speed than that used by licencing authorities, but this just sounds like self-interested griping. One is the risk to pedestrians from bars fitted to 2WDs or 4WDs. There is a rush of research activity to check the effects of current bull-bars and to design acceptable ones. Demonstration of compliance with ADR 69 requires full scale barrier testing and to demonstrate that the critical air bag timing mechanism is not affected when a bull bar is fitted also requires full scale barrier testing. Following a small number of tragic accidents some sensational newspaper articles were written.