ROAD SAFETY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 76, 31 March 1939, Page 11

ROAD SAFETY

EDUCATION FILMS

SCENIC BACKGROUNDS

A film entitled "Highway Mania," l made by the State Motor Vehicle Commission, Trenton, New Jersey, showing proper and improper driving practices, was shown by the publicity officer of the Transport Department, Mr. A. F. T. Chorlton, as a prelude to the meeting of motor-cyclists held in Wellington on Wednesday night to discuss road safety proposals. This is but one of a number of films the Department has obtained from overseas as part of its campaign to educate the public in greater road safety and bring home to them the dangers that arise from carelessness. Other films of this nature are on order, but in addition the Department is making films of its own in the Dominion, and the plans of the Department provide for increasing use being made of motion picture films as a vehicle for conveying the message of care and caution to all road users. The Department already has the keen cooperation of motor-cycle clubs in the screening of the films; in fact, these institutions are showing great keenness to get them. It is proposed also, to make arrangements for screening them at meetings of automobile associations, women's clubs, farmers' unions, Boy Scouts, and social gatherings generally held at night.. The Department's attention is also focused on the possibilities of useful work through the films being done at the Centennial Exhibition, in addition to other forms, of road safety publicity. It is, realised that when the Exhibition opens there will be thousands of motorist visitors to Wellington, many of them from the country districts, to quite a considerable proportion of whom driving in heavy traffic in the narrow streets of the city will be a new experience. With so much ■of -a glittering nature to catch the eye at the Exhibition, the Department necessarily^ if it hopes to put over its message, has to do it in a way that will attract, and this is where the motion picture comes in. Includ-i ed in the programmes to be shown at the cinema theatre at the exhibition) will be films supplied/by the Transport! Department.; Already the Department has made several films and in doing so has used New Zealand scenic attractions, as a background. For instance, beautiful Lake Waikaremoana is the background for one of these films. Much of the beauty of this lake has been caught by the camera so that the film has a .definite appeal, but quite cleverly woven into it are some points regarding safe driving practice. That is the idea behind the films being produced by the Department, which feels that New Zealand's scenic attractions present endless possibilities for their utilisation as the background for road safety educational films. In this way the film can be made attractive —the people can be provided with something that has a definite interest; and into the film can be introduced in a' quite incidental way the road. safety lesson so that it will be assimilated subconsciously.

The Department is giving attention also to educating ■ children in road safety practices by means of the motion picture film. Last year, for example, the Department made a film for children which 'was shown;to ' oyer 18,000 school children, including over 1700 secondary school pupils, and just recently the film has been shown all over the Wairarapa district.

The films Which have been,made to date by the Department are of the 16 millimetre; size, but it is planned in the programmes for the future to include also. full-size films for inclusion in general theatre programmes.!