Occupant deaths from inflating airbags have been all but eliminated.

This article outlines the reduction in deaths and injuries caused by frontal airbags in accord with a number of safety measures enacted by manufacturers. When the technology was relatively new in 1995, airbags peaked at 68 deaths of which 58 were children; however, now that new safety measures have gone in effect, this number has dropped to one isolated adult death in 2004. The article attributes this reduction primarily to airbag redesign, leading to a better controlled inflation rate of airbags in newer cars. Additional factors include increasing belt use, encouraging shorter drivers to sit farther from the steering wheel, and disseminating airbag educational information to drivers.