Vehicle safety has been achieved a long way since the 70s. Thanks to advances in engineering and technology, vehicle fatalities have dropped drastically in the last five decades, and now, we get a dramatic demonstration of that thanks to a video of a vintage crash test between a 1972 Chevy Impala and a 1972 Chevy Vega.
In this head-on collision, we actually see a smaller Vega said by the Impala, highlighting the stark differences in vehicle size, structure and crashworthiness of the era.
The video begins with the narrator noting limitations in the headrest design for both vehicles, neither the Impala nor the Vega offering properly positioned headrests for crash test dummies, reflecting the relatively primitive safety techniques of the time.
We then see the two vehicles collide, with impact speeds of approximately 47 mph on the Vega and 48 mph on the Impala. Upon impact, we see the smaller, lighter Vega get pushed back hard, absorbing significantly more damage.
The Vega’s passenger compartment suffered massive deformation, with the dummy’s head hitting the windshield and dashboard. The narrator points out that the doll’s neck collar mechanism failed on impact, with the head becoming trapped between the dashboard and windshield before separating. Glass shards were embedded in the doll’s face. Sulfuric acid from the battery spilled into the passenger compartment, burning the doll’s clothes. Ouch.
In contrast, the Impala’s passenger compartment remains relatively intact. A larger vehicle structure absorbs and distributes crash energy more effectively, thereby preserving the cabin. Inside, the doll showed far fewer signs of trauma after touching the “energy-absorbing” dashboard. However, the Impala was not without fault, as the headrests were forced out of position during the crash.
See the full crash test below:
As the video emphasizes, the larger, heavier Chevy Impala delivers much better performance than the smaller, lighter Vega. Today, larger and heavier vehicles are still generally better in crashes, although there are limitations.
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