This Crash Video Shows the Importance of Upgrading Your Vehicles

Buying new cars, particularly when your current car works just fine, can be painful. There are so many factors to consider. Gas mileage, price point, engine reliability, and (for some) acceleration all play a role. Very few consider a standard safety rating on a vehicle. And, if you're shopping used vehicles, that safety diminishes with older models. This crash video shows the importance of upgrading your vehicles.

A new PSA infospot from AA New Zealand reminds viewers that safety -- even on used cars -- is crucial. Typically, buying a newer model could save your life. According to statistics, more than half of those who die in crashes in New Zealand each year die in cars built before 2000. Car safety rating group ANCAP put two model years to the test.

The crash involves a 1998 Toyota Corolla and a 2015 Corolla to determine which one would hold up in fatal crash conditions. The two cars hit head on moving at 64 km/h (39 mph). While that might not sound insanely fast, it's just fast enough for a head-on collision to be deadly.

This test is particularly important for those who are young drivers or elderly drivers. Those two groups tend to drive older models of cars. The former because older models are cheaper for first cars and the latter group because they simply don't have a need to get a new model car when their car works just fine. James Goodwin serves as ANCAP's CEO and expounded on what the test could mean to those two groups.

"It is unfortunate we tend to see our most at-risk drivers –  the young and inexperienced, as well as the elderly and more frail – in the most at-risk vehicles, and we hope this test promotes a conversation to encourage all motorists to consider the safety of their car," Goodwin said. "Safety is not a luxury and we want everyone to remain safe on the road, so consumers should look for the safest car they can afford and the safest car that suits their needs."

Via AA New Zealand