I Didn't Think (1970s)

this morning the owner of this house an electronics engineer named Jim Granger his wife Maryanne and their three children Jim Jr age nine Roberta 7 and little Bobby 4 years old got into the family car and took off on a vacation they had looked forward to for a long time 2 weeks at the shore unun will never return to this [Music] house [Music] [Applause] all [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh this is where the vacation trip for the Grangers ended no more than 2 hours distance from their home both parents and the little girl were killed the two little boys were left off reason for the accident the Granger car was overloaded and traveling at a high rate of speed and couldn't negotiate a curve in the road what makes this even more of a tragedy is the fact that it could have been avoided Warner Dew Secretary of revenue for Pennsylvania one of his major responsibilities is to see that both drivers and cars are qualified and safe to travel Pennsylvania highways what you're about to see is not a commercial parts of it are not very pleasant either but accidents that kill or MIM people aren't very pleasant and we think the reason why behind this film is very important it may help to save your life God I never thought this could ever happen to me Mrs Murray was a good driver and she had never taken a chance until 2 days ago her appointment at the hairdressers lasted longer than she thought it would and she was afraid of being late at least Mrs Murray is going to live in a wheelchair it's very easy to get killed driving a car the best way according to all experts is to drink and [Music] speed the second best way is to speed when weather or road conditions are unsafe the third best way is to just speed speeding will get you there a few minutes faster than someone who doesn't speed in fact under perfect conditions if you traveled 50 m distance at 65 mph while somebody else went 55 you'd arrive at your destination 5 minutes sooner or not at all [Music] of course thousands of people have an accident like this each year and don't get killed instead they lose a limb or their eyesight or become paralyzed or brain damage is so great they can't ever function normally again all because some someone wanted to get someplace 5 minutes earlier the other night about 12 we got a call from the state police to bring the record a mile post 272 it's about 6 mil from here when we got there there was a mother and three kids in this [Music] [Music] the most appalling fact about automobile accidents is this almost without exception most of them could have been avoided all it calls for is more careful driving by the person behind the wheel now chances are you know three or four persons who have been involved in car accidents well I'm Ray schaer governor of Pennsylvania and Warner Dew and I hear about thousands each year those who live to tell us about these accidents all say practically the same thing I didn't think it would ever happen to me the sad truth is it can happen to you it just doesn't have to possible we design roads and Traffic Systems to carry millions of motorists each year but what no Governor can do or no law can do is design the mental attitude each driver should have cars are wonderful machines but they can also be dangerous weapons and every driver no matter how good he thinks he is should be constantly alert to avoid situations that can get him and other people into trouble defensive driving is one of the answers we think that if you drive scared scared to death that something will happen to you chances are nothing will nobody likes being told what to do but the rules of the road TR traffic regulations speed limits even that state trooper just waiting for you to race by they only exist for your benefit death at the wheel is terrible enough but sometimes even more terrible is the agony and the Suffering The maimed and the crippled have to endure for the rest of their lives and how about the loss of earning power how about the effect upon your family the waight upon your conscience it may only be a slogan but please drive as if your life dependent upon it don't think accidents can't happen to you they can if you let [Music] [Music] them more people die in traffic accident than in Wars no one is immune anyone's life or health or happiness can be taken away at any time government officials are deeply concerned as they should be ironically this problem is easy to cure by following Simple Rules before making any turn put on your turn signals then count five then when you're sure you're in the clear turn but just because you use your signal lights and are passing legally doesn't mean it's always safe just because the road ahead looks empty that doesn't mean some child isn't going to suddenly Dash across it or a car unexpectedly back into [Music] it or that another car or truck won't appear around the curve or at an intersection you can be killed or hurt just as well in the country as you can on a Turnpike or city street if you're you're not killed one of the added dangers of a rural accident is that it often takes longer for help to get to you you can be sober and alert in driving within the speed limit but if you insist upon tailgating if you like driving close to other cars statistics show you'll have a serious accident as for the car in front pulling over is the only sensible thing to do seat belts won't prevent an accident because they don't do the driving but if you wear a seat belt and you are in an accident you have a 50% better chance of not being hurled through the windshield or being thrown out of the car when the door opens because of the force of a crash these people could have lived if they'd us their safety bels yet thousands like them make the same mistake each day [Music] one of the best things drivers can do is keep their windows and windshields clean and their car in good mechanical condition it will run better be safer to [Music] drive but all the Car Care in the world won't help if you're so overly confident that you go through a red [Music] light some people forget what they're doing at the happiest moments on special occasions holidays and celebrations they allow their minds to wander and fail to stay alert a good way to lose [Music] control [Music] when your day is done that's when the day really begins for ambulances and Wreckers and the highway patrol when you're on your way home from work and you're anxious to get there there you've put in a hard day the boss has been on your neck or you're late and you want to get home in time to eat and the change perhaps to make the game and the anger and frustration and impatience boils up inside you you're tired and tense it's sometime between 4:30 and 6:30 in the evening and you don't care besides you're a good driver another way to put policemen and ambulance drivers to work is to stop and have a few drinks before driving home most people who drink would be offended if you called them murderers drinking is the biggest highway killer it is also the biggest crippler and keeps emergency hospital Crews busy every night stitching up faces and setting broken [Music] limbs [Music] the owner of this car also thought he was a good driver such a good driver that he could drive well even after drinking his first accident in 20 years and he didn't think it would ever happen to him but you don't even have to drink maybe you're driving home and it's getting late you've been driving without a stop because you're anxious to get home you're only about an hour away and you're just a little [Music] [Music] tired there's massive internal bleeding multiple fractures both legs severe lacerations face and scalp he doesn't know what happened said he doesn't think he fell asleep I don't know what we're going to do we don't even have enough Insurance to pay the hospital I don't understand he promised me that if he ever felt tired he'd stop and rest I don't know what happens to people when they get behind the wheel of a car you see them cutting in and out of lanes as if they were the only ones on the road or not giving the ride away when they're supposed to but they think nothing of zooming along at 70 or 80 with a car full of people to me it's more than recklessness or discourtesy it's stupidity the first part of the job pulling out the little [Music] kids there are more drivers under the age of 20 involved in automobile accidents than any other age group there are many reasons why teenagers cause most of our accidents drinking speeding recklessness but even if you're not doing any of these you you can be killed by not keeping your eyes and your mind on the [Music] road [Music] one of the safety cliches which happens to be true is that most accidents happen within 25 Mi of the driver's home at the intersection you know best on the streets you know best that's when people let down their guard nothing can ever happen to them here well they didn't think it would happen to them here you don't even need the street for an accident each year hundreds of people are killed thousands injured in supposedly safe areas like shopping centers the first I knew is when I heard a scream no area is safe and no car is safe even at 45 mph much less at 65 mph [Music] w as an ambulance driver I see them all doctors Housewives salesmen truck drivers the funny part is most of them if they're still alive when we get there say this is their first [Music] accident according to statistics the only people who don't get into trouble on public highways are the professional racing drivers to whom speed and danger is a way of life the only reason we don't get into trouble on the highway is is that we're scared to death of the other drivers at least we know what we're doing here what they do out there is unbelievable Mr Baker yes I understand you're moving that's right why I was in an accident I I didn't have enough Insurance to pay off what I needed man I hit got a judgment against me in court the house will pay for part of it part of it yeah for the next few years he gets part of my paycheck each week as well this is a special home run by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for children who cannot be cared for in their own homes there are birth deformities here chronically diseased children and some mentally [ __ ] but there are other children here who were not deformed at Birth who had no chronic disabl disease who are not mentally [ __ ] but who will spend the rest of their lives in this home these children are here because there are some drivers who didn't think they'd ever hit a child or involve one in an auto [Music] accident [Music] [Music] e [Music] [Music] Jimmy is one of the lucky ones he doesn't have to be confined in an institution he has 50% use of his legs because his brain was Dam damaged his mental growth is slow he's a 9-year-old when he should be a 12year old and all he was doing was playing in this quiet neighborhood the car that hit Jimmy was going 60 M an hour in a 35 M hour [Music] Zone Jimmy was crossing the road the rules are simple and they're based on bitter experience don't speed don't disregard weather conditions don't drive while under the influence of alcohol don't ignore traffic signals don't tailgate or pass recklessly don't fail to wear a safety belt please don't drive while tiring or angry or frustrated don't allow yourself to become distracted or forgetful don't feel overconfident because you're behind the wheel of a big new well polished [Music] car if the rules are simple so are the solutions if the driver of this car had stopped and rested for just 5 minutes he wouldn't have fallen asleep at the wheel this man did not need to leave his friend's house until he had given himself a chance to sober [Music] up [Music] this family could have postponed their trip until weather conditions [Music] improved this man wouldn't have lost his job or even hurt his standing by being 10 minutes late for an appointment [Music] it would have taken about 5 seconds for this person to fasten his safety belt a routine mechanical checkup would have prevented this [Music] accident this lady didn't even think weather really represented such a serious traffic hazard [Music] this man could have stopped to think about his problems by the side of the road not while [Music] driving no great amount of self-discipline is required yet the cemeteries and will continue to fill with victims of all [Music] ages all because somebody didn't think you think of that next time you're behind the wheel [Music] oh h