This 1970s color film, produced for the National Safety Council by Pilot Productions Inc. as part of a series on the techniques of defensive driving, offers a driver’s POV view of midwestern expressway navigation (TRT 10:47).
Opening titles: “The National Safety Council presents, Techniques of Defensive Driving: Driving the Expressways” (0:10). Highway driving, as seen from the driver’s seat of a moving automobile. A dashboard speedometer shows a red needle climbing to speeds over 60mph. Passing a garbage truck (0:31). Speed limit signs show a maximum of 65 and a minimum of 40. A montage of highway traffic signs: “No Stopping, Thru Traffic,” etc. (1:03). Three lanes of traffic, divided by dotted white lines. An exit for Waukegan Road (1:30). A convertible misses an exit and tries to back up onto an exit ramp. Another car speeds through an area marked with orange pylons (3:04). Congested traffic driving at high speeds (3:29). A family automobile with children in the backseat. The father driving is distracted by a map and mischief (4:26). A car accelerates and changes lanes (4:52). A rearview mirror. A passing milk tanker truck and a white convertible (5:21). Tailgating, as seen from the rearview mirror. Closeup on a turn signal, and a lane change, allowing the tailgating vehicle to pass safely (5:48). Pulling over to the shoulder of the highway (6:30). A “Wrong Way” sign. Highway overpasses. Merging traffic. A sky blue station wagon accelerates to match the speed of traffic (6:54). A driver’s POV navigating a highway entrance under normal conditions. A congested highway onramp (7:50). Safe passing is demonstrated with acceleration before returning to the right hand lane. A “hotshot” car with a racing stripe refuses to be passed (8:32). A disabled vehicle sits along the side of the highway with its hood open (9:36). A small town intersection. A stoplight. A residential area. POV highway footage resumes (9:52). End credits (10:31).
More than 38,000 people die each year in car crashes on United States roadways. An additional 4.4 million are injured, requiring hospitalization.
The National Safety Council (NSC) was founded in 1913, and was granted a congressional charter in 1953. It is a public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States, focusing on issues such as workplace safety, medication abuse, and driver’s safety. The NSC is based in Ithaca, Illinois.
