Fortunately, most of the things that are loose in the van are lightweight and/or large enough that they won't fit under the seats to roll through to the front. In fact, there is enough hardware/ductwork/whatever under all the seats that nothing bigger than a coin might get through in any case. IMHO, minivans have gotten safer over the years (comparing mine to the one I used to ride to school in). And I definitely did not complain about the gas mileage vs. an SUV when gas prices were up to $4/gal.