The "bikes with no helmets, cars with no seat belts" thing is almost a cliché now. But it fits.

Also, there didn't used to be a problem sending an elementary school kid to the store alone, even to buy beer and cigarettes for an adult. That wasn't outlawed until somewhere around 1973, if I remember correctly. I remember being sent to the store by a step-father a few times, until one day the law didn't allow it anymore.

"But it's not for me. It's for my dad."
"I still can't sell it to you."

And I was so afraid he'd be mad at me when I came home without it. I was surprised and relieved when he wasn't.