Wild at the Wheel (ca. 1970s)

[Music] w [Music] Tom Robinson 19 years old his friends called him Speedy he'd earned the nickname he always drove too fast and that's what caused the [Music] accident but what were the reasons for Tom persistent speeding what motivated him what events led up to this tragic ending I'm a traffic investigator and it's my job to uncover the answers to these questions besides I knew him personally and I liked him I called on his father first Mr Robinson was very cooperative and gave me a Frank account of his son's driving history [Music] before Tom got his own car Mr Robinson told me Father and Son had frequent arguments about who was going to use the family [Music] car I gathered that Mr Robinson himself was a pretty skillful driver but aggressive and impatient behind the wheel probably he kept his good driving record only through luck and the courtesy of of other more sensible drivers I wondered how many of Tom's earliest attitudes toward driving and taking chances might have come from watching his own father then with Mr Robinson's help Tom had been able to get a car of his own he acted as if his whole life had led up to this moment I remember I felt pretty much the same way about my first car in spite of his own reckless driving habits Mr Robinson made it a point to urge his son to drive carefully and to observe all the traffic [Music] rules first thing Tom took the shortcut over the hills to his girlfriend's house to show her the new car he and his father had already worked out a plan for Tom to repay the loan Mr Robinson told me proudly that his son had Faithfully kept their agreement right up to the time of the accident Tom appeared in traffic court once on a speeding ticket he admitted he'd been speeding and was perfectly willing to pay the fine but his father was outraged that the police wasted their time hauling in good clean-cut kids for driving a little fast while the city was overrun with real criminals I'd heard that idea many times how much did it contribute to Tom's own attitude towards speeding Tom's younger brother Kenny still very proud of him said to me Tom was the best driver in the world he could have been a race [Music] driver it was pretty clear that this obvious hero worship from his younger brother must have been important to Tom certainly it helped to boost his own conviction that he was a skillful driver [Music] Kenny would be old enough to apply for his driver's license in a few weeks when he told me about the lessons Tom gave him he made them sound like some of their happiest times together I spoke with several of Tom's teachers I learned that he was popular with his fellow students although he wasn't particularly active in school Affairs the teachers agreed that he was conscientious and responsible he was a good student for though not brilliant and he usually showed good common sense I made it a point to talk with some of Tom's friends in his desire to be accepted Tom always seemed to be trying to impress them with his driving he sure could handle a car they told me but there was no doubt they thought he was a pretty wild driver once Tom found that he'd earned his friend's admiration he was anxious to keep up his reputation for fast driving his girlfriend Carol told me that she liked riding with him but I never realized what could happen she told me we always had such a great time [Music] Carol told me that one of Tom's best friends had been badly hurt in an automobile accident and might be permanently crippled but Tom's attitude seems to have been the usual one it can't happen to me and his Reckless speeding continued his confidence in his own skill at the wheel increased and he grew more and more impatient with anyone who got in his way he took more chances than [Music] ever I learned that Tom used to brag about his technique for beating the r if an officer stopped him for a traffic violation [Music] his trick was always to be very pleasant and polite to say he was sorry for what he'd done and to agree with everything the officer said on minor violations it seems to have worked he'd actually been stopped several times and let go with a warning [Music] my own association with Tom came about through the athletic league baseball team where I was coach Tom's doctor had reported to me that he was in good physical shape and that his eyesight and reflexes were excellent only a few days before his accident he tried out for first base he was always likable and conscientious but his playing was erratic and he just couldn't handle the position I've often wondered if this failure might have upset him so much that he unconsciously tried to compensate for it it in other ways perhaps it was one more factor in his compulsion to speed Tom had a part-time job after school in a local drugstore his employer told me that he was a Dependable worker friendly and [Music] polite the pharmacist also told me that the day before the accident Tom had asked for a raise he had had to turn him down Tom seemed unusually disappointed he thought he needed the extra money for his car insurance then the following day Tom drove Carol home after school and headed over the hills again on his way to work so there wasn't just one reason for Tom speeding but lots of them and they had brought us both here [Music] [Music] his early difficulties with his father over the use of the family car might have caused him to think of it as a symbol of adult superiority and his father's attitude and driving habits might have given him the dangerous idea that it's all right for a skillful driver to take chances the admiration is speeding earned him from his younger brother and his apparent popularity with his friends must have been unusually important to him subconsciously he may have looked upon speeding as a way of making up for those small failures and disappointments that we all have to face I thought further about Kenny as drivers both his father and his older brother had set poor examples for him but his own history and personality were different from his brothers how good a driver would he turn out to be I felt that Tom's speeding was an emotional Outlet he was probably compensating for feeling of insecurity and inferiority speeding was a kind of thrill seeking for him a childish Defiance of authority and a misdirected attempt to show superiority these were surely some of the reasons for Tom's compulsion to speed there may have been others if there were he took them with him [Music] oh