Signal 30 shocked everyone everywhere it was shown,and as such is one of the most remembered of the breed.Great detail in each crash is given to describe what went wrong.Two fiery crashes end in the occupants being burnt to a crisp (very gruesome).A young trucker crushed against the steering wheel/dash because he was travelling too fast for the road....a young father crushed in the door of his 55 Pontiac...overall its very sad.Future films raised the bar up,but Signal 30 set the tone for all the rest.May all the victims shown rest in peace,and may their deaths not be in vain.Lets hope at least one life was saved by viewing these horrific scenes....the original intent of the films producers.
8 Reviews
Brutal but honest.
Paul-30822 November 2002
The grand daddy of shock and gore drivers ed films.Nothing is hidden from view of the intended audience (drivers ed classes),blood,burnt victims,demolished cars,screams of pain.The success of this film led to Mechanized Death,Wheels of Tragedy,Highways of Agony,Options to Live.All these are MUST viewing for any driver young or old.The sad,unforgettable stories of the unfortunates who perished in front of the camera should be taken to the heart....if only those who died had watched a film like this,would they have taken the chances that lead to their early demise??
"This is the sickening result."
boblipton11 July 2020
If you took a high school driver's education class when I was in school in the late 1960s, you got to look some movies showing the results of bad driving. The most famous may be BLOOD ON THE HIGHWAY, but it was by no means the only one. Because they were dealing with teenagers, who are immortal, they seemed to glory in showing their audience scenes of what happened when you were in a crack=up.
This one is the most graphic one I've seen. It starts with an accident between a truck carrying cattle and a passenger car; the cattle are still twitching. Other charming images include someone burned to death, and a young man crushed in half by a car door that came loose, and a young man whose corpse has been crushed by 20 tens of steel tubing.
Charming.
This one is the most graphic one I've seen. It starts with an accident between a truck carrying cattle and a passenger car; the cattle are still twitching. Other charming images include someone burned to death, and a young man crushed in half by a car door that came loose, and a young man whose corpse has been crushed by 20 tens of steel tubing.
Charming.
where is it today?
gmzewski20 January 2006
I saw this film in its entirety in the 1960s & 70s, yes it IS gruesome, and could be the progenitor of the "Faces of Death" series popular in the 80s & 90s. Considering the state of so-called "driver education" these days, this one should be required viewing for everyone preparing to learn to drive. When you see violent death in all its gore & horror, you certainly (if you have any sensibility at all) get a truer perspective on the responsibilities required to drive safely, what one instant of thoughtlessness or inattentiveness at the wheel can do. I worked for Bell Telephone in the 70s & 80s, and at one point was assigned to conduct a safety class. I found this film in the company library, showed it at the session, a number of people got physically sick and had to leave the room! Incredibly, most of them later said "I never knew a car accident could be so terrible!" This film, and another, "RED ASPHALT", is certainly reality in its most graphic form. I'll never forget it, I only wish I could have found a copy when my children were attending "driver's ed" in high school!
Get Off the Road!
sirarthurstreebgreebling II9 July 2002
What can I say, "Signal 30" is the benchmark of what was over the next 25 odd years to follow in the course of the life of "Drivers Ed" films.
Designed to shock teenagers and adults alike into being better and more competent drivers, by showing them death after death after death, and narrated with sarcastic quips about the burned and crushed bodies "This is the final exit for all concerned" etc they do not make for easy viewing and they are not meant to be.
Clinical and precise this is what happens when you are involved in a fatal crash, those are the sounds of people in their death throws, screaming and begging for help, it is as brutal as it gets and total unapologetic, every learner driver should see this film. Followed by "Mechanized Death" "The Last Prom" and numerous others
Designed to shock teenagers and adults alike into being better and more competent drivers, by showing them death after death after death, and narrated with sarcastic quips about the burned and crushed bodies "This is the final exit for all concerned" etc they do not make for easy viewing and they are not meant to be.
Clinical and precise this is what happens when you are involved in a fatal crash, those are the sounds of people in their death throws, screaming and begging for help, it is as brutal as it gets and total unapologetic, every learner driver should see this film. Followed by "Mechanized Death" "The Last Prom" and numerous others
Death
BandSAboutMovies26 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Made by the same people who brought you Wheels of Tragedy and Mechanized Death, Signal 30 refers to the radio code used by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for a fatal traffic accident.
Today, there's no way they would just show the dead bodies of people torn apart by car accidents and tell you how they got there. Everything would be blurred or they would just do reenactments. But no, here are real people in as close to a snuff movie as can exist, all authorized by the authorities.
Made in Mansfield, Ohio - which is between Cleveland and Columbus - this starts with these words: "This is not a Hollywood production as can readily be seen. The quality is below their standards. However, most of these scenes were taken under adverse conditions, nothing has been staged. These are actual scenes taken immediately after the accidents occurred. Also unlike Hollywood our actors are paid nothing. Most of the actors in these movies are bad actors and received top billing only on a tombstone. They paid a terrific price to be in these movies, they paid with their lives."
There's a moment where a young trucker is twisted and destroyed and then another is a black cinder as he is pulled from the barely recognizable detritus of what was once an big rig. It makes you realize that the highways are unsafe and may give you anxiety over even getting behind the wheel, because you are made of blood and muscles that won't stand up to the destructive power of physics.
There's also a barbecue restaurant in Cohoes, NY that has this name. You know, I always say the more horrifying the cartoon art of a barbecue spot, the better the food. There was once a place called Two Pigs that had two of the Three Little Pigs eating the third. I can only imagine that a restaurant named after vehicular death has to taste so good.
This movie is respected. Faces of Death is not. This is real. That one is fake. Draw your own conclusions.
Today, there's no way they would just show the dead bodies of people torn apart by car accidents and tell you how they got there. Everything would be blurred or they would just do reenactments. But no, here are real people in as close to a snuff movie as can exist, all authorized by the authorities.
Made in Mansfield, Ohio - which is between Cleveland and Columbus - this starts with these words: "This is not a Hollywood production as can readily be seen. The quality is below their standards. However, most of these scenes were taken under adverse conditions, nothing has been staged. These are actual scenes taken immediately after the accidents occurred. Also unlike Hollywood our actors are paid nothing. Most of the actors in these movies are bad actors and received top billing only on a tombstone. They paid a terrific price to be in these movies, they paid with their lives."
There's a moment where a young trucker is twisted and destroyed and then another is a black cinder as he is pulled from the barely recognizable detritus of what was once an big rig. It makes you realize that the highways are unsafe and may give you anxiety over even getting behind the wheel, because you are made of blood and muscles that won't stand up to the destructive power of physics.
There's also a barbecue restaurant in Cohoes, NY that has this name. You know, I always say the more horrifying the cartoon art of a barbecue spot, the better the food. There was once a place called Two Pigs that had two of the Three Little Pigs eating the third. I can only imagine that a restaurant named after vehicular death has to taste so good.
This movie is respected. Faces of Death is not. This is real. That one is fake. Draw your own conclusions.
Questionable narrative
mrdonleone12 October 2019
It's not that gruesome as it appears to be: a series of car accidents, sure, but we've seen all of that before; however, the thing which keeps it shocking is the gruesome background information the talkshow host is informing us of, thereby making us identify with the victims and,once again, believe we are equal to their same situation... It is here, though, that Hollywood very keenly pulls our leg again: we don't know what the narrator is telling us is true, but we assume it to be; likewise, we assume on similar accounts that the Germans were the enemy during the second world war, but who might say for sure?? When we believe the words of the leading man in this documentary we will feel awful at its ending: but never forget all is equal to one big love. Who cares about traffic accidents!?! Well, if you listen to the words of this man and accept them as the truth, than you will. But is it worth it??!
Grim Educational Film
Michael_Elliott27 April 2018
Signal 30 (1959)
*** (out of 4)
There was a couple decade period where educational films were made and shown to kids and teens in hopes that they would scare them into doing things "the right way." A lot fo these films haven't aged well and they contain really bad acting, awful dialogue and are so poorly made that you can't take them serious. SIGNAL 30 is not that film.
No, this educational film attempts to tell you to drive safety by showing some very bad crashes including several dead bodies. There's no question that this here is one of the most grim educational shorts out there as more times than not they were full of fake images and situations but this one here goes for the real stuff so some viewers will be timid of what is shown here.
The film certainly isn't a masterpiece but you have to respect its brutal and honest look at what can happen if you're not paying attention to road. People driving through stop signs, falling asleep or not following over rules of the road are discussed yet a seat belt is never brought up.
*** (out of 4)
There was a couple decade period where educational films were made and shown to kids and teens in hopes that they would scare them into doing things "the right way." A lot fo these films haven't aged well and they contain really bad acting, awful dialogue and are so poorly made that you can't take them serious. SIGNAL 30 is not that film.
No, this educational film attempts to tell you to drive safety by showing some very bad crashes including several dead bodies. There's no question that this here is one of the most grim educational shorts out there as more times than not they were full of fake images and situations but this one here goes for the real stuff so some viewers will be timid of what is shown here.
The film certainly isn't a masterpiece but you have to respect its brutal and honest look at what can happen if you're not paying attention to road. People driving through stop signs, falling asleep or not following over rules of the road are discussed yet a seat belt is never brought up.
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