About

This film covers the early history of post World War II educational films, especially those involving traffic safety by the Highway Safety Foundation under direction of Richard Wayman. In the name of promoting safe driving in teenagers, these films became notorious for their gory depiction of accidents to shock their audiences to make their point. The film also covers the role of safety films of this era, their effect on North American teenage culture, the struggle between idealism and lurid exploitation and how they reflected the larger society concerns of the time that adults projected onto their youth.

Post-war classrooms once sat in stunned silence as grainy, hyper-violent footage of car crashes played to traumatized teenagers. This deep dive examines how shock tactics and gruesome practical effects became the primary tools for teaching a generation to respect the road.