Head-on crash footage reveals you’re FOUR times more likely to die in a 20-year-old car than a modern motor
Shocking test reveals driver of an older car is left with life-threatening injuries while a modern motorist walks away from 40mph horror smash
A HEART-STOPPING video of two cars smashing into each other head-on has revealed how you're four times more likely to die in an older model than a modern equivalent.
A 2015 Toyota Corolla - known as the Auris in the UK - was crashed into a 1998 version of the same car at 40mph with sickening results.
Conducted by Australia and New Zealand's version of Euro NCAP, the tests reveal the huge trauma endured by drivers who are in older cars during a crash.
With the average age of a UK car currently at 7.8 years, it means millions of pre-2000 motors are still on the roads - many bought as first cars for young drivers.
But these results reveal why you should think twice about picking up a budget banger rather than spending more on a newer, pricier model.
The 1998 dummy model is seen crunching into the dashboard with the steering wheel and stereo flying past his head.
Legs are crushed, too, as the entire front-end of the cabin crumples into itself.
By contrast, the driver of the newer Toyota is cushioned by a series of airbags with the car maintaining its shape.
The outcome of the crash was serious injuries to the head, chest and legs for the 1998 driver while the newer car scored five stars for protection.
James Goodwin, ANCAP chief executive officer, said: "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, and we hope this test promotes a conversation to encourage all motorists to consider the safety of their car.
"Safety is not a luxury and we want everyone to remain safe on the road, so consumers should look for the safest car they can afford and the safest car that suits their needs.”
A similar test was conducted in the UK earlier this year when the results of a Rover 100 hitting a wall were compared to a Honda Jazz.
The results mirrored the latest test with the Jazz driver likely walking away and the Rover occupant suffering life-threatening injuries.
It prompted renewed calls for a scrappage scheme to remove these dangerous, older models and replace them with cars fitted with autonomous emergency braking.
Figures show this could reduce death and seriously injured figures in the UK by 7,000 a year.