Apparently this has devolved into an argument for/against government regs.  Sure, there are folks who think that safety features and their technological advance only exist because of government regs.  They're wrong.  Just as a few examples: Ford pioneered the use of safety glass in 1928.  That's not a typo...nineteen-twenty-eight.  On the Model A.  In '55 Ford began offering seatbelts in their vehicles.  Seatbelts became ubiquitous by 1958 or thereabouts (though not always standard equipment yet, and many folks would remove them or tuck them behind the seat as it was "uncool" to wear them).  No Big Brother breathing down their necks to make it happen.  Disk brakes began making their way onto vehicles by the 60s.  The only thing the government can do is demand that manufacturers install components on their vehicles that they've already spent time and money developing for the very purpose of installing on their vehicles anyway.  After all, can the government insist that manufacturers install non-existent safety components?  Which central-planning design bureau of the Federal Government is presently toiling away in an Eddison-style lab developing tomorrow's safety technology?  Oh, that's right.  No such thing exists.  What the government regs do is prevent manufacturers from offering base-line models with those features as options for entry-level or low-income buyers, ultimately putting any new car out of many of those peoples' price range.  Result?  They're forced to shop for an older used car that likely lacks the newer features anyway, and whatever features are present very likely are in some state of disrepair.

As for the crash itself, all I can say is "yeah....sucks to be you, '59".  I've owned two '66 Ford Fairlanes in my day, and I've always thanked God I never rolled the things or got caught in a head-on even at moderate speeds.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the cars.  But I shudder to recall the sight of that spear-like steering column drooling at the first opportunity to impale my heart or throat should I drift into oncoming traffic or a bridge abutment.  Not that I'd want to do that in any car....

Anyone who thinks old cars are safe because they are heavier and mostly steel has never crashed one before. A good reference for those that don't want to find out the hard way is a book called "car crashes and other sad stories". I believe the book is no longer published but there are used copies around. You'd be shocked.