12 Absurdly Unsafe Features That Made Old Cars Dangerous
Dangerous Drives
Many popular automobile features from the past would raise eyebrows in today’s safety-conscious environment. The following are examples. Actually, if it weren’t for these questionable features, we wouldn’t be in a much safer place today.
Lap Seatbelts
This might be new to you, but lap belts can lead to something called “seat belt syndrome”, which involves injuries like broken bones in the lower back and internal organs issues. Studies also show that the odds of lumbar spine fractures are higher for children using lap belts alone.
Lap Seatbelts (Cont.)
Unfortunately, lap-only seatbelts don’t really stop your upper body from moving if you get into an accident. Without a shoulder strap, you can still get thrown forward, which raises the chances of hitting your head on the dashboard or windshield and getting hurt.
Lap Seatbelts (Cont.)
In the early Volkswagen Beetles models, lap seatbelts held you in at the waist, but they didn’t give you the extra upper body support like the three-point seatbelts we have today. It was by the 1960s that three-point seatbelts were introduced by Volvo and have since then become standard.
Ford Pinto’s Fuel Tank Design
The Pinto’s gas tank was placed right between the back axle and the bumper, which was quite common for cars back then. But this setup made it easy for the tank to get damaged in crashes, especially if you were going over 20 mph.
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