08th Mar 2008
Driver’s Safety Films: Signal 30
The infamous Signal 30 filmed by Richard Wayman adds some insult to injury, opening with the scrolling text:
Most of the actors in these movies are bad actors and received top billing only on a tombstone. They paid a terrific price to be in these movies, they paid with their lives.
More recent “safety” films featuring people smeared on the pavement will obscure the victims’ faces, a bit more respectful.
I’m a bit glad Signal 30 was considered a bit too much for my driver’s ed class. I did see gore films, but the people weren’t in the process of dying while being filmed. Don’t watch the clip if you don’t like watching people dying.
I found that movie offensive. That’s not because of the images of the dying. There was only one image that made me look away (and I’m extremely squeamish; on the other hand, watching it on such a small screen is certain to diminish the horrifying effect).
No, what made me angry was the unjustified moralizing about some of the accidents the film depicted. In most of the crashes shown (and in most that occur), human error is a significant and easily identifiable element. However, this film takes it further, and has the combination of dishonesty and cajones to claim that all accidents are a result of violations of traffic laws. (Never black ice, blown tires, or just a confluence of bad luck.) The narrator blames one driver for driving recklessly and causing an accident; but how do they know he was driving recklessly? Because he had an accident!