I think I can speak for us all in saying that what makes our vintage cars appealing to us are the ways in which they differ from the modern everyday drivers that we all own. By comparison to my prewar collection of cars, modern cars are more powerful, reliable, comfortable, fuel efficient, and full of a lot of whiz bang electronic features that our predecessors could not have thought they would want. Those are all advances in technology. Then there is one more big difference that is the result of an evolution in attitudes.
When I was first learning to drive in the early ‘50s, I don’t recall safety as being much of a concern to drivers or manufacturers. As a kid, I recall it being common to see children riding in their parents’ cars standing up between the front seat and the dashboard in order to get a better view of the scenery. There wasn’t much thought that this could be dangerous. Seat lap belts were something found in airplanes and race cars, but not in passenger cars. They weren’t available as a factory option in any makes until 1949 and not widely available until the mid ‘50s. Federal law mandated them in 1966. A lot of crash dummies gave their lives convincing the public of the effectiveness of the additional restraint of three-point shoulder belts in the mid ‘60s. I find them uncomfortable to sit on and the constant beeping of the reminder alarm very annoying. Seat belt usage is now required by law in most states.
To kick off their enforcement campaign recently, the Vermont State Police pointed out that 40% of people killed in car crashes were not wearing seat belts. I guess it didn’t occur to them that this means that a majority (60%) of fatalities were wearing seat belts. There are better arguments that can be made.
There were aspects of the cabin of the car that could also be modified to improve crash safety. A padded dashboard was first introduced in the Tucker in 1948 but wasn’t widely adopted until the ‘70s. Collapsible steering wheels were first available in Fords in 1958 to prevent impaling the driver during a crash. They were mandated by law in 1968.
The glass windows surrounding the passenger compartment have always been a significant factor in crash safety. It was recognized as early as the 1920s. Laminated safety glass windshields reduced the likelihood of passengers being cut by shards of broken glass and, in extreme cases, of being thrown through the windshield. Tempered glass in the side and rear windows, introduced in the ‘50s, breaks into harmless granules when shattered.
The ultimate passive restraint was the airbag which is triggered to inflate quickly by the sudden jolt of a collision and surround the passengers by an impact-absorbing cushion. The Oldsmobile Toronado was first to provide them in 1973, and they were mandated for all new cars by 1998.
You can no longer let your kid stand up in the front of the car. The safety nags have become obsessed with the design, use, and placement of child safety seats. Children must be in the back seat, trussed into the latest design iteration of the safety seat installed and belted according to police instructions. So much for letting a toddler enjoy a ride in the rumble seat of my ’29 Plymouth Roadster.
Cars are so safe now that you’ll have to take advantage of their ability to exceed 120 mph driving drunk to get hurt. This is frequently done. Otherwise, if you want the thrill of living dangerously, you’ll have to resort to downhill skiing the expert slope, sky diving, bungee jumping, ice climbing or scaling El Capitan. These too are frequently done and we learn about the results on the evening news. What fun is life without the exciting possibility of losing it?
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