Worn Tyres Can Kill

“Worn tyres spell danger” is a message that’s hard to miss, as it’s repeated four times in appropriately sepulchral tones, the fourth after the risks have been graphically dramatised. We know how this young couple’s jaunt is likely to end, but despite the film’s punchy brevity there’s room for dramatic irony. Note the way the driver polishes the bonnet or pauses to install the optional roof as it starts to rain, in both cases completely, and fatally, oblivious of problems elsewhere.

The car is a Morris Minor 1000, a good choice for a public information film as it was an instantly recognisable and quintessentially British brand - and the choice of a convertible model meant the filmmakers could engineer a brief pause as the driver stops to install the roof once it starts to rain. He’s more concerned about his and his girlfriend’s comfort than whether his car’s tyres can cope with an increasingly slippery road. His car has clearly seen better days, and could have been manufactured at any point between 1956 and 1969, when the range was discontinued. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.