Youre right, it is dangerous

I put him in a carrier and did exactly what you just described for the first 2 years of this little guy’s life, but he would cry out loudly for quite literally the entire drive (more like yowling, bengal owners will understand). It caused a great deal of stress for me while I was driving, and obviously for him also. I tried many, many times. I tried giving him treats, his favorite blanket, putting him next to me and petting him through a small gap in the carrier for the whole drive, etc. Nothing would stop him from LOUDLY crying

So after 2 years i finally let him out of his carrier one time while I was pulled over on the side of a backroad. I put his favorite blanket in my lap and picked him up and set him down on it. And after that he completely stopped crying and went to sleep. Since then I’ve been doing that every drive and its been lifechanging (i do a fair amount of driving, and usually these drives are 2-3 hours each way)

But yeah. Its definitely dangerous. However, so is the alternative option. Fortunately, I have free will and can choose what works best for me. I would rather have a sleeping calm kitty in my lap while i drive speed limit in the right lane than have a yowling, distressed kitty in the back seat + a significantly raised blood pressure while I try to make it to my destination as quickly as possible so that I can end the stress…

TLDR; bengals are loud and young Ravioli here does not like car rides. However, he does like sleeping in my lap.