Cars ARE Safer Today Than 50 Years Ago

[MountainDon]

On September 9, 2009, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety destroyed a perfectly good 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air. This wanton dispatching of a perfectly good 50-year-old Chevy dismayed lovers of vintage cars, but it did add a "Thank God" to the old saying, "They just don't build them like they used to."



In 1959, 36,223 motorists missed their next meal. As a nation we drove 700.5 million miles, and that worked out to 5.2 fatalities per million miles traveled. Last year, with our population having grown...  to an estimated 300 million today, the year 2008 saw 37,261 highway deaths. U.S. motorists drove 2.9 billion miles last year and averaged 1.27 fatalities per million miles traveled.

In rough numbers, there were 120 million more of us, we drove four times as many miles, and we killed one-fifth as many people.

Safety does come at a $$ price though.  



I believe a portion of that increase is also attributable to pollution controls and today's expected power windows, A/C and the like. They used to be luxuries most of us never had.

Still, I'd rather have today's car as my daily driver than those "oldies, but goodies".

http://autos.aol.com/article/crash-1959-chevy?icid=main

[NM_Shooter]

I think this number will continue to drop... due to all the new safety technology.  I've got a Hyundai, and it has tons of little safety features on it. 

[John Raabe]

Another thing causing a drop in highway deaths is the bad economy. People are driving less, working less and are generally less frazzled. There was a recent article on the finding that bad economic times increases longevity - people eat less, get more rest, walk more, etc.

[Squirl]

Another thing causing a drop in highway deaths is the bad economy. People are driving less, working less and are generally less frazzled. There was a recent article on the finding that bad economic times increases longevity - people eat less, get more rest, walk more, etc.

Also people are drinking less in bars than at home or not at all.  It has also lead to a huge decrese in traffic fatalities.

[Don_P]

My old '35 Dodge had knee action shocks, kingpin suspension, 5x17 wheels and some new innovantions just out, "juice" brakes and doors that were hinged at the front. Will wonders never cease  .
I was driving with Dad awhile back and we rounded the curve by the old dairy where he grew up doing about 55 without even thinking about it, just riding along. He commented that rounding that curve back in the day at anything over 45 was flat out flying, he had pulled several cars out and there had been a death there.

My wife followed me while I was moving the tractor one day, I was balling the jack, 3 hi and throttle open, sliding some of the corners. I asked her when we got there how fast I was running. She said I hit 20 a couple of times.