Are Older Cars Safer Than Newer Cars?

There seems to be a misconception that older, larger cars are rock solid. Therefore, older/larger cars must be safer for passengers. You might be tempted to think that in the event of an accident (especially with a smaller more modern car) the driver in the older vehicle would be less likely to get hurt, whereas the driver of the newer car would get crushed, right?

In fact, the opposite is actually true.

1959 Bel Air Vs. 2009 Chevy Malibu

The Institute for Highway Safety staged a crash test between a 2009 Chevy Malibu and a 1959 Bel Air. The older car got smashed, and the test dummy showed that the passengers would have died in the crash from massive head and chest injuries. This experiment was carried out to show how much passenger protection has improved in the last few decades. Here is the video:

The older car, despite looking stronger, bigger, and consisting of more steel – lacked airbags, head restraint, and the kind of engineering designed to protect drivers. The newer Modern Malibu, on the other hand, protected its driver, with little risk of body injuries, thanks to its superior safety gear and advanced engineering.

This test was performed all the way back in 2009. Technology has gotten exponentially better since then. Sensors brake for you, radars and cameras detect how close you are to external objects, and the structure of the car does a much better job protecting the vehicle’s occupants.

Repairing Older and Newer Cars

It is vital that repair shops use the proper tools and equipment, and employ well trained, experienced technicians to ensure that smart devices in newer cars operate correctly after an accident. It’s the only way for a car using today’s technology to be properly repaired. For all the smart machines to perform the way they were engineered to perform, repair facilities must restore a vehicle back to its manufacturer’s specifications. Not all shops can do this. Make sure you find one that can.

Here is another video showing the correlation between car age and safety: