Old Vs New Chevy Blazer Crash Test Shows Shocking Progress In Vehicle Safety

Everybody knows that big, old cars with massive chrome bumpers and long hoods are like tanks, making them safe in a collision, right? How else could old-school engineers build in some safety when frontal airbags wouldn't be required as standard equipment until 1998?

The progress made in designing and building safer cars over the past 30 years is nothing short of remarkable, and now there's living proof, literally: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates its crash testing of vehicles has saved 50,000 lives since the testing began in 1995. And to mark the occasion, the organization released a shocking crash test video clearly showing the differences between the 1990s and today.

The test was updated in 2022 to include protection for back-seat passengers. But in 2012 and 2017, the institute introduced the driver- and passenger-side small overlap front tests to simulate a collision with only 25% overlap. Side crash tests started in 2003 and were updated in 2021. Rollover crash tests came in 2009.

That brings us to the video above, featuring a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer against a 2026 Blazer in their crash lab, like two knights ready to joust but colliding violently with more than wooden lances. And we say this without exaggeration – the results of the test are legitimately shocking.

Bumps And Bruises Vs. A Snapped Neck

The new Blazer got the best of the old Blazer. While the driver in the 2026 model would have likely walked away with bumps and bruises, IIHS says the driver of the 1996 model would have suffered potentially fatal injuries. The video says it all.

While the 2026 passenger compartment remained intact, the driver in the 1996 Blazer would have been crushed by the dashboard and steering column. And then, the fully inflated airbag would have snapped the driver's head back and toward the window. For the record, earlier testing for the 2026 Blazer earned it a top-tier good rating (going back to its 2019 reintroduction), while the 1996 Blazer got an overall rating of poor back in the day. Honestly, we're going to think twice before setting foot in an old Blazer.

But this isn't the first time IIHS has done cross-generational crash testing. The institute did a similar test between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. "It exploded the myth that older vehicles were built like tanks and therefore safer for their occupants," the IIHS said.

Cost Savings Of $500 Billion
Based on all the safety improvements automakers have baked into their vehicles over the past 30 years, the IIHS estimates the reduction in serious injuries to vehicle occupants (as well as vehicle damage) has saved society more than $500 billion, based on the US Department of Transportation’s historical estimates for the value of a statistical life.

In tallying up the impact of 30 years of crash testing and the resulting improvements made by automakers, IIHS researchers compared the real-world fatality rates for vehicles rated good with those rated acceptable, marginal or poor in each test. Then they calculated the potential fatalities that would have occurred if the percentage of good-rated vehicles had not risen. The results showed that vehicle improvements made after these tests saved an estimated 48,352 lives from 1999 to 2024.