That’s a variable among brands and models of cars, largely.

If the older car had been a different model, it would be a different outcome.

My 2006 car has airbags all over the place, and they’re of the variable-deployment variety… Becuase it’s a brand/model that made their cars this way.

Using “less safe” as a metric is kind of silly at this point. The safety of vehicles since the 90’s is just unbelievable. I witnessed a head-on impact in about 1994, with one car that had airbags (so it was newer at the time, hut using airbags of that era, before variable-deployments tech). That driver walked away too - the car was clearly totalled.

It really depends on the scenario. As a driver, you are the single greatest influence of safety in a car.

As someone who’s been driving for 40 years, I’ve had exactly 2 accidents - both on my motorcycle, from other drivers not seeing me. So there’s the odds of being in an accident to consider too. And both of those situations I consider avoidable by me.

None of my cars have been in accidents - I’ve avoided quite a few.