‘Reliable but not safe’: First responders warn against this kind of car

First responders have pleaded with young drivers to jump into a safer, newer car after seeing the horrors of accidents in older models.

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Young people are over-represented in the road toll. Despite making up only 14 per cent of Australia's driving population, 17–25-year-olds are the third most represented group in the year-to-date road toll for 2024.

In addition to being the most inexperienced and vulnerable road users, younger drivers also often opt for older vehicles when starting their motoring journey.

An Australian paramedic recently took to Reddit to explain the horrors they'd witnessed of young people driving old cars, pleading with them to look for newer vehicles.

“I've been an emergency service worker in rural NSW for 15 years, in that time I've attended a fatal accident around every six months, so at least 30 in total. I know the general consensus for people asking what car they should buy is a cheap old Toyota,” said the Reddit user.

“I agree they are reliable but not safe compared to modern cars. The correct answer is the safest car you can afford. A lot of fatalities could have been prevented if the victim was in a safer, modern car; old HiLuxes and Corollas offer zero protection when travelling at 100km/h.”

“There is no point in being financially savvy saving money on a car if it ends up killing you and your family,” the paramedic concluded.

Almost all the responses were in agreeance with the original poster.

“At 18 I was involved in a crash while borrowing my mum's brand-new Toyota Yaris. Thanks to the crushable panels and the motor dropping under the car and every airbag going off, I was able to push the door open and step out of the car. Besides some hectic whiplash that lasted a week or two, I was fine,” said one user.

“Agreed, only this year I sold my (much beloved) 2010 Corolla for a new Mazda CX-5 because we were having our first child. The decision was entirely around having a safer car,” commented another.

Drive spoke to one New South Wales paramedic who said that she has seen a stark contrast in accidents involving new cars compared to older ones.

“Generally, I’ve seen more people walk away from an accident in a newer car compared to an older one,” said the paramedic.

“There are many factors that contribute to whether people walk away from accidents. But newer cars seem to be less damaged from accidents compared to that of older cars.

“When it comes to older cars, I’ve attended the scene of some pretty bad accidents where the older car's airbags haven’t even gone off, whereas with newer vehicles they typically protect the people in them more.

“You see more younger people, as well as much older drivers in older cars because that’s obviously all they can afford with their budget,” the paramedic concluded.

The data speaks for itself. Stuart Newstead, Professor and Director at the Monash University Accident Research Centre, told Drive that the statistical chance of dying in a car accident is heightened in an older vehicle.

“Based on analysis of real-world crash data reported to police, compared to a vehicle manufactured in 2020, a vehicle manufactured in 2005 is 44 per cent more likely on average to result in death or serious injury to the driver in the same crash,” said Mr Newstead.

“If people prioritised safety in their vehicle choices, the Australian road toll could be reduced by over 33 per cent. For novice drivers this figure is more than double, with over 60 per cent savings in deaths and serious injuries possible if novice drivers chose the safest vehicles even within the age range of vehicles they currently drive.

“One of the problems is that novice drivers often inherit older vehicles from parents or grandparents, who have themselves not prioritised safety in their choices. This means the novice driver's vehicle is not only old, but not generally the safest pick amongst that age of vehicle.”

“In addition, older vehicles do not have the latest crash-avoidance technologies available (such as stability control, autonomous braking and lane-keep assistance), which could reduce their crash risk by a further 14 per cent. These technologies are much more effective for novice drivers, producing crash reductions 75 per cent higher than for a more experienced driver,” Mr Newstead concluded.

In case you weren’t convinced that you need to buy a newer vehicle, ANCAP – which runs all of the vehicle safety tests in Australia – pitted a 1998 Toyota Corolla against a 2015 model and the results were astounding (video below).

The frontal offset test was conducted at 64km/h between the two cars, with both the internal and external results looking much more dramatic in the 1998 model, which did not have airbags, compared to the 2015 model, which scored a five-star safety rating when it was initially tested.

On the other hand, a lot of users from the Reddit post pointed out that many people do not have the luxury of purchasing a new car.

Mr Newstead pointed out that not every new vehicle is safer than an old one, and urged motorists to use free online tools to assess the safety credentials of a new car before purchasing.

“Not every new vehicle is safer than every older vehicle, so novice drivers and their parents should consult resources such as howsafeisyourcar.com.au to see the safety ratings specific to particular vehicles when purchasing, and don't assume that the old hand-me-down family car is the best option.”

How Safe is Your Car? allows prospective buyers to set various parameters for used vehicles, including a date and price range, and provides recommendations for the safest choices that comply with those criteria.

Several older cars feature on the website's list of 'top picks', including a 2017 Hyundai i30, a 2015 Toyota Prius, a 2019 Subaru Impreza, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz A-Class, a 2019 Toyota Prius V, a 2019 Toyota Corolla and a 2019 Honda Civic.