Car Seats

Although the vehicle was created in the 1800s, it wasn't until the 1920s that it became widely accepted in America. For those early vehicles, auto safety was hardly a concept. Accidents were frequent since they were merely metal boxes on wheels. Considering that the first windshield wipers weren't even created until 1903, cars had remained largely defenseless in the rain for about 15 years.

The concept of a rearview mirror already existed by 1911, and turn indicators debuted in 1914. The dashboard didn't have padding until 1947. It took until 1962 for the first child safety car seat to be developed. In 1971, standards were finally established. In 1979, the first child car seat regulation entered into force. All states adopted car seat regulations in 1985.

For over 40 years of intensive use, there was virtually nothing a car could do to keep a youngster safe. The development of seatbelts didn't begin until the 1950s. Also, there had been earlier iterations of child car seats, but not ones intended to keep them safe. Early car seats were actually boosters that allowed the child to sit still and look out of the windows.

The CDC estimates that more than 600,000 kids under the age of 12 still travel without vehicle restraints every year. Compare that to what conditions must have been like in the past, before anything existed.