Do Ford’s Vintage Driver Training Films Still Hold Up Today?

I remember itching to get my licence, to the point of having booked my driver’s road test appointment for the first available time on the day of my 16th birthday. In advance, I’d taken in-class portions of a local driver training course, with additional lessons to follow once the government-appointed inspector was confident I could handle a car. In hindsight, maybe I should have just watched a few of Ford’s old driver training films.

Why? Thirty minutes later, I walked out of the office with a temporary license that enabled me to go anywhere in Canada (during the day, on roads with speeds below 100 km/h)—and a definite feeling that the test had been way too easy. I suppose it would have, given that I grew up watching Formula 1 and other forms of racing, well aware by 16 of the joys and dangers of operating a motor vehicle.

What if you’re not a born enthusiast? By the ’70s, driver training films were nothing new, but reached their zenith with respect to their use of real test footage, analogue teaching aids, scare tactics, and men with moustaches. Here’s what Ford came up with.

_{Thumbnail image courtesy of Volvo}