Produced by the Standard Oil Company of California, this is a 1940s driver’s education and safety film. Unfortunately, the title of the film is missing, so we’re not sure what the name of the film is or who directed or wrote it. The film is notable because it shows varied landscapes and naturalistic footage of diverse 1940s automobiles in “near-miss” driving conditions, taken from dashboard-mounted cameras with police supervision. The film was shot in California (TRT: 14:41).
Two California police officers in uniform stand outdoors, demonstrating a vision test used to determine impairment while driving. Two colored rods are positioned inside a box, testing the color’s effect on depth perception (0:06). A hand with a pencil marks the rods. Another man has peripheral vision measured (0:33). POV night driving in low light. Headlights flash by (1:03). An officer peers into a wooden box which houses a machine measuring the effects of glare on drivers’ eyes (1:11). A spring-loaded mechanical device is mounted under the chassis of a 1940s automobile (1:19). Two police officers take measurements on the pavement, charting the relation of stopping distance to reaction time (1:57). Stopping distance measured at 40mph. The black automobile stops within feet of a two-tone police car, its tires smoking (2:28). POV driving in winter weather past distance markers. Passing oncoming trucks. Unsafe drivers speeding, changing lanes, passing improperly, and turning wildly in a montage (2:42). Driving on the wrong side of the highway as seen from behind. An automobile backs out from a parallel parking spot in Burbank, California (4:22). POV driving footage with a 70mph speedometer superimposed (4:44). Driving too slowly in the left hand lane. A police officer sounds a siren and pulls them over (5:54). A totaled maroon vehicle. A color-coded paper illustration of passing distances. Unsafe passing in montage (6:28) on the highway to Sacramento. Safe passing is demonstrated several times (7:15). A 4-way stop is illustrated with animation. Cars failing to observe the intersection’s stop signs pile up in a crash (7:51). Leaving a parking space in a maroon convertible. Outside a gas station, pedestrians walk through a crosswalk. A postman on a residential street (8:08). Residential driving in California (8:39). Another animated illustration shows a safe left turn, yielding to oncoming traffic (9:07). Overhead footage of highway drivers in vintage cars (9:23). The compacted hood of a black automobile is hooked up and towed away from the gas station (9:54). An illustration of a speedometer suggests proper following distances. An improper left turn is illustrated. Narration corrects the stereotype that improper left turns are only made by women (10:01). Life-action footage of a proper left turn onto a residential street. A Bekins Van & Storage Company trailer is pulled by a truck (10:47). A man clears his driveway of a wrench and his young son before backing up his vehicle (11:17). Parking brakes and proper angling of wheels for parking on an inclined hill (11:47). Parking in a confined space vs. a clear one (12:18). A prolonged yellow light. Cows, dogs, and horses obstruct a roadway. Driving through a forest and into a mountainous region (12:50). A dam, snow-covered mountains, coniferous trees, a small island, and a rainbow. Narration: “You may never find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but if you apply the golden rule of driving… you will live longer and happier…” (13:32). End titles: “This was a Standard Oil Company of California Presentation” (14:19).
More than 38,000 people die each year in car crashes on United States roadways. An additional 4.4 million are injured, requiring hospitalization.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
