Early 1950s road safety documentary

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james01
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Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by james01 »

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/wat ... AQOV35rwlo


Fascinating. And plenty of cyclist-blaming even then!
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Mick F
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Re: Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by Mick F »

Victim blaming? :lol:

Excellent movie.
Thank you for finding it and posting it.
Mick F. Cornwall
MikeF
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Re: Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by MikeF »

Some of these old videos are good - reminders of what life was like when I was young!

I'm surprised by how many vehicles there were. I don't recall roads being that busy, but then I didn't live in Oxford.
Obviously staged in parts and, of course, pedestrians, cyclists, and M/C were nearly always in the wrong. They were even the first to be suggested for the cause of the crash near the end.
Pyrene pump action fire extinguishers were fairly common place then, and installed in many commercial vehicles. They contained carbon tetrachloride - now banned for that purpose. H&S :wink:
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
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squeaker
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Re: Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by squeaker »

Thanks :D Interesting to see the belisha crossings on roundabout exits (it will never catch on) plus the repeated comments about 'maintaining the traffic flow' :roll: The Morris Minor convey was a giggle, and I note that the NHS had a shortage of beds and nurses :shock:
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james01
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Re: Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by james01 »

squeaker wrote: The Morris Minor convey was a giggle, :


Those Morris cars were being driven to the docks for export. The infamous "running-in" period meant that drivers of brand-new cars were instructed not to exceed 30 mph for at least the first 500 miles to allow the engines to bed-in. Hence the slow convoy.
martinn
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Re: Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by martinn »

Interesting to see the traffic not stopping at the zebra crossings!

there are a fair number of Zebra crossings near or on the exit/ entrance to roundabouts in Bristol.
peetee
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Re: Early 1950s road safety documentary

Post by peetee »

Great stuff, thanks for that link.
What struck me was the speed of the traffic given the dreadful brakes they had back then. And also where the narrator commended the chap who 'correctly' signalled and turned right.....cutting across the lady cyclist as he did so!
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
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