Ever ponder how far automotive safety has advanced over the previous 50 years? 

Check out this Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) film

 which compares a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air to a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu in a crash test.

It is unlikely to be a surprise as to which car does better in the test.

In the 1800s, the first seat belt was patented. Seatbelts weren't yet mandated as a safety feature when the 1959 Chevrolet 

The IIHS estimates that seat belts prevented 14,955 fatalities in 2017. It wasn't until 1995