Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films

HH charts the course of the company "Highway Safety Films" and their quest to make America's roads safer at the same time as they turn a profit. This documentary highlights gore of the original movies as well as the fact that this gore did little more than emotionally scar millions of impressionable youth.

HH also explores some of the underbelly of the company including allegations that the company made pornos on the Highway Safety Film Tour Bus. Unfortunately, these tangents are more interesting than the original subject matter and these tangents are left undeveloped.

There's nothing cliché, or square, when it comes to waking people up. If you tell a teenager "DON'T Do IT", they probably will for the thrill of it. More people have died each year of car accidents than pandemics. So the idea of speaking to young or old driver's is preachy, and a waste of time is naïve. The automobile has been around since the early 1900's and the 1950's blossomed stupid "rebel without a cause" spoiled teenager movies, like Brando, the wild one. Something was desperately needed to SCARE the Hell out of people in general from driving like jackasses. These films like Signal 30, or blood on the highway was what was needed at the time. People today are just as stupid driving while texting. Its no better today, just more air-bags to combat the air-heads behind the wheel.

A great idea,but a rather shaky production.Great interviews with members of the Foundation,and video archivists.They missed the chance to possibly interview those who appeared in the films (as victims) and those who recreated scenes in their films (like Wheels of Tragedy).But overall,thank goodness this genre has been given a new voice.Kids today laugh at death and blood.Society has felt it better to shield kids from the reality of death and agony rather than shock them/damage them,with the truth.Death isn't pretty,but its reality.Many thousands die every year,and millions are injured....what better subject to showcase than the fact that car crashes kill and maim American lives.For those who feel that sacraficing even one soldier in Iraq or Afganistan is wrong,just stop and think....how many Americans die in just ONE day on our roads? And nothing our "mighty" SUVs,pickups,semis,muscle cars or exotic imports can prevent.People die in EVERY vehicle,in every state and in every town.And over time,in every street.Think about that next time you tool around town talking on the cell phone or adjusting your radio knob.Take the advice these films were meant to give...think,use your head,and fear for your life.You will be a much safer driver as a result.

The only reason to watch this is to see clips from the old safety films and there are lots of them. They try to make fake drama about how HSF ended and it's lame. At least it wasn't boring.

I was shown one of these scare films in the mid-80s and believe they are enormously effective. This documentary is about a fascinating topic, but it's point of view promotes the idea that the films don't work. I could not disagree more. After seeing the real result of speeding, or going through a stop sign in one of these films in a high school driver's ed class I drove MUCH more carefully as a teenager. Those bloody corpses smashed into the windshield are so disgusting I believe I'm still the cautious driver I am today because of them. THE TACTIC WORKS. We live in an era when corporate media and the government believe the public is too queasy to see our war dead from Iraq. And those are just coffins! The more informed we are about the real consequences of our actions the better off we are.