This Happens When An Old 98 Toyota Corolla Crashes Into The New One

Road safety experts in Australia and New Zealand have renewed calls for teenage and elderly drivers to only get behind the wheel of newer cars by showing the difference two decades can really make in a crash.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), a bilateral road safety body, this week released a video of a crash between a 1998 Toyota Corolla and a 2015 model, revealing that the older model exposes drivers to a far more dangerous experience.

The video shows the two Toyotas striking each other at 65km/h in a partial-overlap crash test, with graphic results. ANCAP claims the collision would likely have killed the driver of the 1998 model, with the driver of the newer car, which comes with a five-star safety rating, only sustaining minor injuries.

The Australian-market 1998 Corolla doesn’t come with airbags as standard, with the crash results showing “sustained catastrophic structural failure.” The dummies’ sensors also indicated severe head, chest, and leg trauma, with the car earning zero safety stars with a score of 0.40 out of a possible 16.

According to ANCAP figures, vehicles built before 2000 account for 20% of cars on New Zealand and Australia’s roads, but that one in three fatal road crashes involve these older cars.

“It is unfortunate we tend to see out most at-risk drivers – the young and inexperienced, as well as the elderly and more frail – in the most at-risk vehicles,” said ANCAP CEO James Goodwin.

“We hope this test promotes a conversation to encourage all motorists to consider the safety of their car.”

Article by: James Dempsey / Newstalk.com