It wasn’t just what we were worried about, it was what we would allow.
I grew up in the 50s. My dad had been a Master Sgt in WWII. When someone would come down our street driving too fast, he occasionally ran out into the street and jumped in front of their car stopping them. Then he would tell them that they could not drive like that there — he would not allow it.
It is all in what will be allowed by the citizenry acting on their own.
Early 60s, I was 9 and would take 2 of my friends and ride into DC with my father, he would go to his office and we would roam the mall/museums/monuments all day, then ride a Greyhound bus back to a bus stop 2 miles from home, then walk home. I imagine an awful lot of parents in the 50s/60s/70s would have police records if the same stupidity reigned supreme back then.
Years back, we had a kid in our neighborhood who liked to drive really fast, over 50 down residential streets. One day, while riding my bike, I met up with him at a stop sign. I leaned into his car and told him that he was going to immediately stop driving through my neighborhood at 50 MPH. He very meekly nodded. I looked over at his passenger, whom I had not looked at before...his mom.
She was just a tad upset at junior.