It's funny how we have so many safety precautions these days. In a lot of cases I would say they are good yet in some cases they should not be a requirement.
When I was little my dad was a pastor in the Sabbath keeping church. We drove all over the country in a Volkswagen beetle. Everything we owned fit inside of that car. The backseat was filled with things and my younger sister and I rode on top of The things in the backseat without child seats.