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The age of your car could be the difference between life and death, experts warn, as drivers are encouraged to upgrade to newer models.
Confronting images of a car-to-car crash test between a 1998 Toyota Corolla and its 2015 counterpart reveal how far safety technology has come in the last 20 years.
The driver of the older car was four times more likely to have died while the other driver would have received only minor injuries, research by Australia and New Zealand's independent vehicle safety advocate, ANCAP shows.
The test highlights the important role newer vehicles play in improving road safety.
'It is concerning the rate of fatal crashes is four times higher for older vehicles than for new vehicles,' said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, James Goodwin.
'We've been tracking the average age of a vehicle involved in a fatal crash, and in just one year we've seen that average increase from 12.5 years to 12.9 years. This highlights the need for a renewed national focus and greater support for safer vehicles.'
While cars built in 2000 or earlier make up just 20 per cent of the registered vehicles on the road, they're involved in about one third of fatal crashes.
In comparison, newer cars, built between 2011 and 2016, which make up 31 per cent of vehicles on the road are involved in 13 per cent of fatality crashes.
The most at-risk drivers tend to drive older, less safe cars.
'It is unfortunate we tend to see our most at-risk drivers – the young and inexperienced, as well as the elderly and more frail – in the most at-risk vehicles,' Mr Goodwin said.
'We hope this test promotes a conversation to encourage all motorists to consider the safety of their car,' Mr Goodwin said.
The car-to-car crash test, which replicates a head-on crash, was conducted at 64km/h.
'The older car sustained catastrophic structural failure with dummy readings showing an extremely high risk of serious head, chest and leg injury to the driver. It achieved a score of just 0.40 out of 16 points – zero stars.'
'In contrast, the current model performed very well with a five star level of protection offered, scoring 12.93 out of 16 points,' said Mr Goodwin.