If you love classic cars, it’s hard to blame you. They’re beautiful. They’re historic. They’re powerful. When you drive one, it makes you feel something in a way that a new Prius just isn’t going to do.
However, you must understand that they’re vastly less safe than the cars coming out today. A car built forty years ago just doesn’t have all of the safety features you’ll find in a modern car.
If you go back far enough, these cars don’t even have airbags. Some may have questionable seatbelts. They don’t have automatic headlights, so you’re less safe when driving at night. They don’t have crumple zones, and the solid frames may feel safer, but they actually increase the risk to those in the car.
But you don’t have to go back to the 1960s to find all of the risks. Technology has progressed at an incredible rate. Modern cars now have automatic braking, lane-departure warnings, different driving modes for different weather and backup cameras. Some have autonomous driver assistance programs that, while not fully autonomous, can almost drive the car for you.
All of these advances in technology have lowered the risk of death on the roads. Some do it by preventing accidents. Others do it by reducing the odds of serious injury. But they all work together, and you’re not going to find that in a classic car. Driving one means taking a massive risk with your safety.
If you get involved in an accident caused by another driver, regardless of the age of the car you own, you need to know if you have a right to compensation for your injuries. Don’t let an insurance company wiggle out of paying what’s fair simply because you have an “old car.”
