This 1960s Motorcycle Safety Film is About as Charming as it Gets
They had a whole different approach to motorcycle safety in the 1960s, as this charmingly British film reveals
Motorcycle safety is not a new ‘thing’, in fact, from the early days of the powered two-wheeler, the authorities have been keen to push how much care is needed when riding a motorbike.
Nowadays, we have slick-looking social media campaigns that are backed by big-budget videos, and CGI graphics. They all, though, always seem to have a fairly solemn, foreboding tone to them. That wasn’t the case back in the post-war period, when motorcycle use was through the roof, and British brands like Triumph, BSA, and Norton weren’t just household names; they were the envy of the world.
That hold that British bike makers had on the world of two-wheels in the 1960s, may have had a hand in the tone of this 1960s motorcycle safety film, which seems to have a frankly comical ‘Carry On’ vibe to it.
It follows Tom and his unnamed friend, who, according to the film, is “always inclined to being reckless!”, on their journey from tricycles to bicycles and then to motorcycles. The motorcycle part of the film follows them on a ride to work at the factory, and you can tell how this pans out. Tom, the sensible one, takes his time, gets up early, leaves plenty of time and ultimately gets to work safe and sound. Tom’s mate rides like a madman, avoids a near miss with a pile of rubble and eventually comes a cropper with a delivery van as he’s entering the factory gates. So close, yet so far, you reckless fool.
Ultimately, Tom’s friend survives to ride another day (once his casts have been removed), and while the outcome of the film isn’t surprising, there is one element of it that is. In particular, it's the message of the film. The film is called Look… Signal… Manoeuvre… and was released in the mid-1960s. Around 60 years have passed since its creation, but the message is still the same as some safety campaigns today, and the basic manoeuvre, and the way we are supposed to execute it, has changed little (aside from a lifesaver glance combined with a mirror check) in all those years.
Whatever the message it’s trying to get across, it’s a nice glimpse into the past, with some lovely old British bikes. And it’s also quite nice to watch someone on my screen that doesn’t feature somebody ending every sentence with ‘innit’.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
