[QUOTE=Rick]
Tucker I think you have that time line incorrect. At the time of the passive restraint mandate (early 1980’s) by the federal government, there were no mandatory seat belt laws in the US. This was the reason that airbags were overly powerful in the early years. The test they were subjected to was with an unbelted adult male crash test dummy.
According to Wiki the US got seat belt legislation in 1994. This is seven years after the passive restraint was required.
Also note the airbag requirement is a federal vehicle safety requirement. Seat belt laws are state laws, not federal. The federal government “encouraged” the states to pass seat belt laws by threatening to withhold federal highway funds if no seat belt law was passed.
[/QUOTE]
You might be right, or my source might have been wrong. I was going from memory of something that I read somewhere, which isn’t always the best idea. 
