THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed a European Union (EU) directive imposing technical rules on EU car and van manufacturers making and fitting airbags.

The legislation would harmonise existing conflicting national rules within the 25 EU countries, and insist upon bags resisting water and extreme temperatures; being durable generally; not inflating at the wrong time; being supplied with multilingual instructions; and other conditions.

Brussels estimates there are currently 80 million airbag systems in the EU, worth E3.5 billion in total.