Growing up, the cars we rode in looked cool, felt powerful, and made us feel like we were going somewhere fast, even if it was just down the street for groceries. But man, looking back, it’s kind of a miracle we made it out of the ’70s and ’80s without more bumps and bruises than we did. A lot of the things that made those old cars unique also made them seriously unsafe.
Some of these features were just wild experiments, others were meant to be helpful, but they all had one thing in common – they put style and novelty before actual safety. I didn’t think twice about them as a kid, but now that I look back, I see the danger hiding in plain sight. Here are 13 old car features I remember riding with that, in hindsight, were downright hazardous.
1. Swing-Away Steering Wheels
My uncle had one of those Fords where the steering wheel would swing to the side when you opened the door. It seemed like magic as a kid, but now I realize how risky it really was. Sometimes the wheel didn’t lock back into place all the way, and I remember watching him smack it back into position before driving off. If that thing came loose while you were driving, good luck steering.
2. Metal Dashboards
The dashboard in my granddad’s old Chevy was a cold slab of steel. There were no soft materials – just bare metal and hard edges. If your head hit that thing during a crash, you weren’t walking away without serious injuries. It wasn’t until later that they started padding dashboards to prevent major head trauma.
3. Pop-Out Windshields
Some cars, like the Tucker, had windshields designed to pop out in a crash. It was supposed to help passengers escape easily. But if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt – which a lot of people weren’t back then – you’d fly through the front like a missile. That windshield became a ticket to the ER instead of a safety feature.
4. Unsafe Fuel Tanks
The Ford Pinto is the one everybody talks about – and for good reason. I knew a kid whose family had one. They were rear-ended, and thankfully it didn’t burst into flames, but others weren’t so lucky. The fuel tank placement made it a rolling fire hazard. It’s hard to believe that design ever made it past the drawing board.
5. Wrist Twist Steering
This one never made it mainstream, but Ford tried replacing the steering wheel with two rotating knobs on a prototype Mercury. I only saw it once at a car show, but even as a kid, it looked confusing. Turns out, it was. Drivers had to steer with their wrists, and it didn’t provide the feedback we rely on to stay in control. A total mess waiting to happen.
6. Lap-Only Seat Belts
Back then, a lot of cars had only a strap across your lap – no shoulder harness at all. My parents had a station wagon with just lap belts in the back. In a crash, they didn’t keep your upper body from slamming into the seat in front of you. I remember sliding forward during hard stops and wondering what the belt was even for.
7. No Headrests
We didn’t think about headrests growing up – half the time, the seats didn’t even go that high. But now I know how important they are for preventing whiplash. Rear-end crashes without a headrest meant your neck would snap back like a whip, and you could walk away with serious spinal injuries. They weren’t just for comfort.
8. Water-Filled Bumpers
It sounds like a joke, but some car companies tried putting water inside bumpers to absorb crash impacts. My neighbor had a car with these, and I remember it leaking all the time after even the smallest fender benders. Water might cushion a hit slightly, but compared to modern crumple zones, it’s like patching a sinking boat with duct tape.
9. Hood Ornaments
Back then, every fancy car had a hood ornament – sleek metal sculptures sticking straight out. They looked cool but became deadly in crashes. If a pedestrian got hit, those ornaments could impale them. It’s no wonder regulations pushed manufacturers to get rid of them or make them retractable.
10. Non-Collapsible Steering Columns
Before they invented collapsible steering columns, if you crashed hard enough, that steering wheel could shoot right into your chest. Some of the old cars we rode in had that setup, and nobody thought twice about it. Looking back, it was basically a metal spear aimed straight at the driver.
11. Neck Seat Belts
This is one of the weirdest safety ideas I’ve ever heard of – belts that actually wrapped around your neck. It was supposed to prevent whiplash, but all I can think about is how easily it could strangle you in a crash. Thankfully, they never made it into production cars. It was like trying to fix one problem by creating a much worse one.
12. No Crumple Zones
The old cars were tanks. That’s what people loved about them – big, solid steel frames. But without crumple zones, all that force went straight into the passengers during a crash. I remember thinking how “safe” those big cars felt. Turns out, they were anything but.
13. No Anti-Lock Brakes
I remember the first time I heard about anti-lock brakes – it seemed like space-age stuff. Before ABS, hitting the brakes too hard meant you’d skid and lose control. In the winter, we’d slide all over the road. Modern ABS helps prevent that, but back then, you had to learn how to “pump the brakes” or pray you didn’t hit ice.
My Thoughts on All This Now
Looking back, it’s honestly amazing how much we’ve learned about car safety. What used to be seen as luxury or even gimmicks are now life-saving standards. Features like crumple zones, ABS, headrests, and padded dashboards came too late for a lot of people, but they’ve saved many lives since.
It’s also kind of wild to think about how far engineers went just to try new things, like wrist-twist steering or pop-out windshields. Some of it was pretty creative, even if it didn’t work out. I guess that’s the double edge of innovation: sometimes you make breakthroughs, and sometimes you make hood-mounted spears.
These old features remind me how much we used to gamble with safety just to look cool or try something different. I’m glad those days are over. I still love those old cars, but I’m even happier I don’t have to ride in them anymore.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.