That’s not a secret that new cars are much safer than old cars, but what we did not know is by how much. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just released a report highlighting the added safety of newer cars and trucks over older cars and trucks, and attaching real data to an otherwise assumed theory is always a good idea.
Here are some of the most powerful data points worth seeing:
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55 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built prior to 1984
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53 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built between 1985 and 1992
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46 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built between 1993 and 1997
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42 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built between 1997 and 2002
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36 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built between 2002 and 2007
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31 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built between 2008 and 2012
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26 percent: Occupants fatally injured in vehicles built between 2013 and 2017
Using the most recent fatal crash data, this analysis supports previous research in finding that a higher proportion of the occupants of older MY vehicles suffered a fatal injury. In addition, the proportion of vehicle occupants who were fatally injured increases with the age of the vehicle.