Yes, I meant when it comes to vehicles that are tested under the same standard. Newer vehicles need to pass more rigorous standards than older vehicles.

With that said, an old truck or SUV can still do a lot of damage to a newer small car. The truck itself might not fair as well as a newer truck, but the passengers in the car might not fair very well either due to the significant height and weight difference.



This is known as the Peltzman effect. While many demonstrations of this effect do exist, it doesn't really have any bearing on the idea that...sh*t happens (Forest Gump Effect? ). You can be the safest driver in the world and still get into an accident. Even if it's still no fault of your own.

With that in mind, if you have a choice between driving a safer vehicle vs driving a less safe vehicle, it makes sense to go with the safer vehicle. Statistics bare this out pretty well too, as overall vehicle fatality levels have decreased significantly over the years (as vehicles have become safer on the whole), despite having more vehicles on the road than ever.