People weren’t so fearful in those days.
Cars were built to take crashes better than the plastic hunks of junk of today. The bumpers of yesterday would total out the cars of today.
When I worked EMS in high school, you could always tell the cars where the driver wasn’t wearing a belt by the bloody head-shaped bulge in the windshield. But cars were heavier then and could stand up to an accident better. Today, they just roll over. Much of the time, the driver gets about halfway out of the window before the roll.
Nasty.
Untrue. I used to think the same thing until I watched this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQvd5_PMACI
In 1967, the Chevrolet Nova underwent a major change toward occupant safety. Outwardly, the vehicle wasn't changed much, however the interior went through some big changes. The dash was no longer simply a metal dash, but was padded to help prevent severe injury should the passenger come into contact with it. The steering column was also re-designed to collapse upon impact, lessening the hit to the driver's chest, and the steering wheel was padded. The car only came with lap belts, and in a frontal collision, the driver and passenger were very likely to impact the dash or steering wheel.