NT-5056

Title Slate same but with countdown.

Man at amusement arcade seated at steering wheel car racing game, people on bumper cars.

Flashing , spinning emergency light on top of emergency vehicle driving down the street. With narration about the the 48,000 people who died in automobile accidents in 1964.

POV moving vehicle on empty highway with multiple overpasses.

CU spinning vehicle tire (on the road)

Silent film footage of crowds of people watching and waving as the first automobile driving down the streets for the first time, smoking all the way. A man is seen holding onto the side of the vehicle as it rolls down the street.

First open air car driving down the road, scaring the horses. Smokey car driving down the road, horse outrunning the vehicle. Car stopping on dirt track, lots of smoke coming out of engine.

Tilt down on busy city streets, peds crossing streets, cool looking vintage cars driving along, but no traffic control! Chaos!

1929 Newspaper headline - EXTRA - Stock Market Crashes

Man driving a beautiful convertible vintage Duesenberg. Narration about the classic vehicle by vintage car collector and authority, Ed Duress(?).

INTERVIEW - DR. JAMES MALFETTI:
Narrator 5:28
Today's driver is the subject of special scrutiny by psychologist James Malfetti. Columbia University,
Dr. James Malfetti 5:35
we have evidence that the basic personality characteristics of an individual influence his driving, if he is basically conservative, he is conservative when he drives. If he is basically reckless, he is reckless when he drives, if he is an individual have responsibility in his life, if his credit is good, if he gets along well with his peers, if he's not in trouble with social agencies, he generally has a good driving record. If his credit is poor, if he is in trouble with authorities, other than traffic authorities, he is usually also in trouble with traffic authorities. In one of our studies, we worked with cab drivers as a sample. And we found that in general, they had very good accident records. And then we went out with them to try to see what made them drive so well. And they did about everything wrong that a driver could do wrong. But the public in relating to cab drivers had developed a certain expectancy, they knew that if an opening was there, the cab driver was going to take it first. And there was no question of who was going to win. So the public had learned to treat the cab drivers in such a way that they made it easier for the cab drivers to drive more safely.

Bumper to bumper taxis coming toward camera

Hand on the wheel of a car.

Unknown woman, patting sweat off her face with her handkerchief, being interviewed on the floor of the 1964 Automobile Show in New York about woman drivers.

CONTINUING INTERVIEW - DR. JAMES MALFETTI
Dr. James Malfetti 7:39
There are a lot of jokes about women drivers. I think males observed poor women drivers more frequently than females observe them. Largely I suppose at this point, it might be said that experience is a factor. And that most women and this is a very general statement, have less experience that driving than men, and so they look more awkward. They sometimes perform more awkwardly, and they are out at those hours perhaps when some of the men who are in a hurry to get places wish they were not out. But insofar as I have been able to establish and we have looked hard on occasion, there is no research finding available, which suggests that one sex is superior to the other so far is driving. We have worked a lot with the adolescent driver. As best as we can measure these components in the laboratory. The adolescent is superior in terms of receiving stimuli and is superior in terms of performing the action once he decides what it is he's supposed to do, but seems therefore to be a bit inferior since he is involved in a disproportionately high number of accidents in terms of being able to decide what it is he should do. Now this may be simply an experiential factor. As he gains more experience, he may become a better driver.

Connecticut police troopers sitting in police vehicle on accident patrol.

Close up talking head Trooper Joseph Bohan, speaking to unseen interviewer from behind the wheel of car. He states reasons for major accident circumstances. POV passenger seat of car.

Police officer using tape to measure where car went off road.

Montage of cars wrecked in var accidents. Car upside down on road, cars completely demolished, stuck under truck, cut in half, demolished car interior.

INTERVIEW - MATHEW SIELSKY, DIRECTOR AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION.
Matthew Sielsky 14:00
Well, they are inadequate, not only from the standpoint of reaching their maximum capacity by that I mean particularly in the metropolitan areas where the traffic is so heavy that these facilities cannot handle them. The second is and that means of course we must widen them, we must either widen them or provide a new facility. The second is that they are inadequate from the standpoint of the characteristics of these highways. The curves are sharp, The hills are deep, the shoulders are narrow. We have a lot of very narrow bridges. We believe that traffic signs are inadequate many instances people do not understand them. And consequently when they don't understand these things that are not only aggravating by the can be very hazardous.

Traffic cop at intersection in New York City blowing whistle, directing traffic

INTERVIEW - HENRY A. BARNES

Henry A. Barnes 15:04
Last year, there were 48,000 people in the United States killed in traffic, it was another three or 4 million that were injured or maimed. If we had no traffic, those actions wouldn't have happened. It's strange that the more congested an area gets, the less serious accidents are, except to pedestrians. When you get congestion, and people start crawling over bumpers between cars and you get serious pedestrian access, the more serious motor vehicle accidents happen out on highways, where it really it shouldn't be an accident, highways that are designed for the maximum safety and so on. And yet, that's where we get accidents where we get multiple fatals. 6, 8, 10 people killed one accident, I think the more serious spots are on our newer freeways and parkways. Here we have a beautiful wide highway divided median, well light into street lights and everything else. And yet, we'll have an accident where a driver will go across a median strip sometimes jump over barrier three feet high heel, go through a chain link fence and hit a car going the other direction equally fast head on. And driving around these highways, I find that every off ramp where we have a so called bullnose barrier to prevent somebody from hitting the street light or from going off the highway. Every one of these things are completely demolished. And yet they're well mark is a streetlight right over the top of them. There's many cases a flasher on them. And yet people will dry right head on until well, I think very basic deficiency really goes behind all of the planning and that is a lack of authority that most traffic engineers in the country have. Now here's an example I recently made a survey of 25 cities ranging from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina. I found over the 25 cities only for only four, didn't the traffic engineer have the authority to make such regulations as he deems necessary without going to somebody else. In the city of Chicago. Every regulation whether it's a cab Stan a stop sign of what it may be, has to be approved by an ordinance of the city council. In Los Angeles, we hear so much about the traffic director or engineer has no authority. He has a five man Labor Board of citizens. Now these may be very fine people and I think they are but they're not traffic experts. And yet they must pass on every single thing he wants to do. As a comparison, the city of New York I have the authority to make any regulation I want. I could make all the streets in New York one way out mount if I wanted to. And I've had the notion to do it someday see what would happen. But the part of the fact that the traffic director does not have the authority to do things. In most cases, he doesn't have the money or the staff. You can't have traffic safety planning, the installation of traffic safety devices and so on. Unless somebody has the authority and the money to go ahead and do these things

Completely demolished car sitting on median strip of highway completely demolished, traffic driving right by it.

Aerial overlooking a three lane highway with a divider and "fourth lane". Woman is seen crossing the highway. Earley is heard speaking about the island separating the three lanes from the fourth.

Traffic cop shot from behind, directing traffic

Directional sign on Houston Highway for the intersection of Highways 59 and 90

WS Houston highway signs for North Loop West and East

Tilt down on two way highway traffic in Houston.

Map of greater Seattle

Highway signs in Seattle: Mercer St. Fairview Ave. Exit 1/4 MI.; Stewart St. Denny Way

Aerial over bumper to bumper two lane traffic and congestion.

Reporter Jim Adams from WMSB, E. Lansing Michigan is seen reporting on a rainy day from an intersection in E. Lansing as traffic goes by. A police officer is seen behind him questioning drivers standing beside vehicles on the side of the road.

Pan out from floor of the Annual Automobile Show, circa 1960's. Female Emcee talking about the autos at the show. Big round sign reads, Wildcat Power. Female model in a leopard bathing suit and cape lying on the hood of new car. As woman in top hat and tuxedo cracks a whip.

Aerial General Motors automobile manufacturing plant.

Var. shots of automobile crash testing; vintage car crashing into wall, rolling over several times; convertible crashing with dummy in drivers' seat with no seatbelt - dummy's head literally falls off.

Impact test car crashing into a tree at high speed. Slow motion as car is completely totally demolished.

Cutaway to sign hanging on brick wall of building: Consumers Union of U.S. Inc. Auto Test Division Office (arrow)

CU hand on assist handle in a car

Parked Chrysler Newport

CU ashtray and a glove box that pulls out in front seat of the Newport. Crooks points out this could threaten the knees of the front seat passenger.

Right side tail end of vehicle with Chrysler logo

INTERVIEW - ROY E. HAEUSLER, CHRYSLER CORPORATION
Narrator 34:00
Roy E. Haeusler automotive safety engineer at the Chrysler Corporation.
Roy E. Haeusler 34:06
I think what Lawrence Crucks is pointing out is that there's still plenty left to be done. I can assure him that is indeed right. We appreciate his interest. We'd like very much to get the maximum amount of interest in safety features of cars as a way of getting acceptance. We think this is a big problem, frankly, getting acceptance.
Narrator 34:26
Mr. Haeusler was asked if he thought there was too great a preponderance of knobs of unpadded dashboards and have unsaved glovebox doors in the Chrysler and indeed in all cars.
Roy E. Haeusler 34:35
I'm sure we'd like very much to be able to remove all projections knobs, specifically that you mentioned. The problem obviously is being able to operate controls while at the same time not having man or child hit them. I think that we can go further on the way of putting controls in deeper valleys, taking other such steps, perhaps making broad knobs such as be less likely to cause local injury. But I say primarily the need is to keep the occupant from hitting this stuff, rather than hoping somehow that one knob will be a little less injurious than another.

American Motors Automotive Engineer, Lawrence Nagler seated inside vehicle pointing out safett features of the steering wheel, the instrument panel padding. He pulls out the ash trays (film jumps) featuring their safety impact feature.

New York State Senator Edward J. Speno, sitting at his desk talking with unseen interviewer. some jumpy spots in footage.

K. A. Stonex of General Motors Corporation speaking with unseen interviewer admits the industry

Senator Gaylord Nelson, Dem., Wisconsin at his desk speaking to unseen interviewer about the Federal Trade Commission's testimony regarding tires and their safety. He states that something needs to be done about the low grade, economy tires of some major manufacturers.

Ross Arnsby, Rubber Manufacturers Association talking with unseen interviewer from his office, states that today's tires are better than ever before due to improved materials and processing techniques. He admits tires that were made only a few years ago would be inadequate on today's vehicles.
Jumpy footage.

REMAINING INTERVIEW - ROSS ARNSBY AND SENATOR EDWARD J. SPENO
Edward Speno 45:58
But to lobby against safety is to lobby against live.
Ross Arnsby 46:02
Number one, we have never lobbied against safety. We have supported many safety organizations in the highway fields such as the National Safety Council, the automotive safety Foundation and the President's Committee on traffic safety. Number two, we did oppose Senator Speno's. bill last year, we do not believe that it would be to the interest of either the public or the tire industry to have differing state standards. If standards are to be meaningful for the public on safety, they must be uniform throughout the country, and consequently, a state by state approach. Our entire standards would not help anyone and wouldn't be particularly detrimental to the public itself. We also believed that Senator Speno's bill was technically faulty, and we opposed it on those grounds as well. With respect to lobbying, the Rubber Manufacturers Association does not employ lobbyists. We don't have any funds for lobbying purposes. We did not indulge in any overt lobbying of any kind as far as the Rubber Manufacturers Association is concerned, nor to the extent of the tire industry. This call it Senator refers to I've heard him make that statement. We have no knowledge of it, if any such call remade it was not made in behalf of the Rubber Manufacturers Association, or the tire industry.

Hand drawn rendering of a prototype for a safety car by Henry Wakeland, a well respected Automotive Consultant. Wakeland manually illustrates his designs and describes the safety measures for future automobiles.

Dr. Bob Campbell, Cornell Accident Research Project Consultant.
INSERT INTERVIEW
Narrator 50:43
The driver would have a body harness and headrest to protect against whiplash injuries. Liberty Mutual estimates that such safety modifications would cost the driver $150
Bob Campbell 50:54
many 1000s and 10s of 1000s of people are indeed killed and in automobiles. I am of the opinion and this is backed by a quite a large body of research that cars today are safer than they were 10 years ago. However, it seems to me that we have only begun to make progress in this area. And that we have a long way to go to bring the automobile to the optimum level of of safety design, we have to be prepared, I think, for a cost penalty to the customer, and perhaps for a penalty of a loss of convenience to bring this about. But it is very urgent, and it should be brought about

Moving along wide open roadway, POV moving vehicle

Vintage 60's automobile with flat tires, broken windows.

Connecticut State Police Officer, Joseph Bohan, behind the wheel of his car speaking about how after the shock and disbelief of an accident, the people who are the cause of fatal accidents typically then pass the blame off on someone or something else and clear themselves of all responsibility for the accident.

Aerial view of intricate complex highway systems with multiple roads and overpasses.

Female driver driving in rain and snow storm, windshield wipers working, very poor visibility. POV passenger in car.

End show. At issue graphics and credits - jumpy film.

End reel.