It might be arguable that older cars are less safe from a mechanical standpoint. But given that drivers today are pretty bad in many ways, it is really a wash I think. What the auto companies have done to improve safety has almost been negated by the stupidity of the average driver. I rack up about 135,000 miles a year driving and see a lot of stupid stuff that people do and still have to be carted off to the hospital or the morgue. While older cars do not have all the safety features, I am not convinced that there was any higher mortality rate back then compared to now. People seemed to be more focused on their driving back then.