This film is part of Free
Road Signs and Signals
Cycling safety, 40s style, in a charming and unexpectedly exhilarating film shot in and around Leek, Staffordshire.
Overview
Don't be put off by the functional title: this is a charming and unexpectedly exhilarating educational film, shot in and around the Staffordshire market town of Leek. A young girl takes her new bicycle out for a spin, with Daddy on hand to relay the finer points of the Highway Code. Made to promote road safety, the film was sponsored by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
The film is striking today for its depiction of a gentler pace of life in this scenic corner of the West Midlands - with barely a hint of the all-conquering ascendency of the motor car that lay just ahead. It takes us on a journey out of town into the undulating hills of the Staffordshire Moorlands, on the fringes of the Peak District National Park. Accidents seem an unlikely prospect: our cyclists are almost entirely untroubled by motorists on the quiet streets and new highways, lending the film an otherworldly quality.
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