Red Asphalt
Red Asphalt is a series of instructional driver's education films and videos produced by the California Highway Patrol, known for their graphic depictions of fatal traffic collisions in a shockumentary style.[1] Horrendously injured and dismembered bodies are shown, typically those of negligent drivers. The original film was produced in 1960,[2] and four sequels have been produced over the following decades. Over the years, many have questioned whether the film actually has a long-term impact on students' driving.[3]
Red Asphalt was originally conceived as Californian version of the similar 1959 film Signal 30.[4] According to The Los Angeles Times, "The original [1960] 16-millimeter black-and-white version of Red Asphalt was compiled from newsreel footage. Screened in driver's education classes at a time when violence was rarely depicted in movies and never shown on TV, its graphic nature immediately turned it into a teenage classic."[2] Red Asphalt III, produced in 1989, showed "stomach-churning wreckage scenes and images of mangled bodies, crushed skulls and charred flesh."[5] The fourth version, produced in 1998, was a more "tasteful" affair, focusing on rescuers and family members rather than the original's graphic crash footage.[2]
The series was criticized in 2006 by the Los Angeles Times for its poor acting and being a "joyless ride" of gruesome images and statistics; the paper called Red Asphalt "the Reefer Madness of driving: Forget trying to reason with teenagers, just scare 'em."[4]
Installments
[edit | edit source]- 1960: Red Asphalt
- 1978: Red Asphalt II
- 1989: Red Asphalt III
- 1998: Red Asphalt IV
- 2006: Red Asphalt V
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Red Asphalt at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 31: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Red Asphalt II at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 31: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Red Asphalt III at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 31: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Red Asphalt IV at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 31: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Red Asphalt V at IMDbLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 31: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
