"Signal 30" -- meant in the 1950s the occurrence of a fatal accident on Ohio roads. It was a code that has a "morbid meaning."
This film is in part the story of the training and tasks of the Ohio State patrol. That is a mid-film digression from the main theme.
But more importantly this film is about a neglect for signage and speed limits. "Neglect and stupidity" caused two lives in the first vignette. And further examples follow. Accidents are the result of driving carelessly and not paying attention to the mechanics of driving.
"Signal 30" is one example of many films made from the 1930s to the present concerning the failure of the driver rather then the failure of the car or automotive industries. The safety campaign that was mounted beginning in the 1930s to at least the 1960s has a historiographical issue associated with it. Was it the more top down impetus of elites and "Motordom" to control the problem of accidents and safety? Thus it is the "Nut" behind the wheel, and therefore the automobile is exonerated. Or was it more a bubbling up of concern and action from the public that led to driver education programs and auto safety campaigns? Or is it a more complex and nuanced tale?
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