- [first lines]
- Narrator: The prevention, detection, and punishment of crime on the nation's highways require constant vigilance and selfless devotion to duty on the part of our law enforcement personnel. Many types of crime and criminals are encountered by the Highway Patrol in their round-the-clock activity, including unexplained outbreaks of violence. One of the most deadly criminals is the amateur, a frightened, panicky gunman who shoots first and thinks afterwards. The amateur acts on impulse. He steals a car; heads for the open highway; and when he sees an isolated place, such as a diner, he makes a decision on the spur of the moment. He is a man afraid, and this makes him deadly.
- [last lines]
- [the gunman has been taken into custody. Dan Mathews asks Sgt. Williams for a cigarette, asks Williams to light it, and suggests that Williams join him in smoking. The vehicle with the suspect is seen leaving the scene. As the sergeant lights his cigarette, Mathews looks at the sky]
- Dan Mathews: You know, it's a nice night. I think we're gonna have a full moon.
- Sgt. Ken Williams: Yeah, it looks like a nice night.