Yes they are dangerous, and there's a reason I disconnected the fuse for mine in my vehicle. I was working at a restaurant and this lady who was a regular was turning into the parking lot and got lightly T-boned, very low impact, under 10 MPH. She was in a convertible car, and it all
happened right in front of me because I out front doing..something. So she takes a breath and turns to me and goes to say something, and POW! The airbag hits her right in the face. Next thing I know she's getting hauled off on a gurney. That's fucked up.
The accident was well over with and that airbag hurt her pretty bad.
I didn't realize they had airbags in a '78 pinto. Cool.