Volvo S60 Interior. Image obtained with thanks from Deebeep Photography on Flickr.
Many people would like to upgrade to newer cars because they tend to be more fuel efficient, but feel as if they are torn between sticking with their “safer” old car that consumes more fuel, or upgrading to flimsier newer cars to improve fuel economy. This analysis was actually conducted by me.
If you look at the statistics here from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, you will see that overall, between 1994 and 2009, the number of automobile accidents has not increased. At first this might make you wonder if the safety of automobiles has improved much, because the fatality count hasn’t.
This is actually a good sign because the number of highway vehicles registered in the U.S increased by 21% between 1994 and 2009, but the number of fatal accidents did not. This means that newer cars have a better safety record (where fatality is concerned), but of course, death is far more important than all injuries. This is because when cars pass a certain age, people tend to discard them. Most of the population drove much newer cars in 2009 now than they did in 1994.
The increase in the number of registered vehicles is likely partly due to population increase.
Number of registered highway vehicles in the U.S [Source]:
- 1994: 201,801,921
- 1995: 205,427,212
- 1996: 210,441,249
- 1997: 211,580,033
- 1998: 215,496,003
- 1999: 220,461,056
- 2000: 225,821,241
- 2001: 235,331,382
- 2002: 234,624,135
- 2003: 236,760,033
- 2004: 243,010,550
- 2005: 247,421,120
- 2006: 250,844,644
- 2007: 254,403,081
- 2008: 255,917,664
- 2009: 254,212,610