Bob, I haven't seen this particular friend for close to 15 years, and the accident was some time before that, maybe 5 years or so, and he probably drove an older vehicle at the time, to boot, so he definitely didn't have airbags.

He was kind of a nut anyways. He once got pulled over in a speed trap, and didn't wait for the cop to get to his window. Instead, he got out and met the cop halfway and gave him a piece of his mind because he knew about the speed trap and had slowed down appropriately before the speed limit changed. Amazingly enough, he didn't get a beating, arrested, nor a ticket.