A Special Crash Test Pits a 1959 Chevy Against a 2009 Chevy
You’ve probably heard of those stunt-loving guys known as the “crash test dummies”, right? Well, those so-called dummies have become an integral part of the family at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and we've all learned quite a bit from them. Founded in 1959, IIHS has spent the last 50 years conducting research and promoting highway and auto safety. The "crash test dummies" have become an important part of their yearly high-speed front and side crash tests conducted to determine vehicle safety.
When you’re out on the road, you don’t spend much time thinking about all of the potential dangers or calculating worst-case scenarios. Thankfully, the researchers at IIHS provide consumers like you with valuable auto safety information through its research, crash tests and studies. But, they don’t stop there. IIHS has continually challenged auto manufacturers to improve auto safety year after year. The results have been nothing less than dramatic.
In celebration of its 50 years of continued research and communications, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety created a crash test to demonstrate just how far auto safety has come. Conducted on Sept. 9, 2009, the crash test pitted a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air against a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. As demonstrated in the crash test and the related still photos, in a real-world similar collision the occupants of the new model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy.
Take a look at the IIHS crash test video and view the photos comparing the two vehicles. It's all about crashworthiness...then and now.
