Remember

I have learned a great deal from my father from his own life.   Well respected man, I admire my dad for the many accomplishments he has achieved in his lifetime despite many hardships in his childhood.      My father is truly remarkable and talented.  It was through him I found my love for art and love for history, especially local history.  My father served in the US Army during The Korean Conflict as a Paratrooper but as proud of him as I am for his service to his country, I am amazed by his service as a Ohio Highway Patrol Axillary Officer.
My father joined The Ohio State Highway Patrol in 1958 and in 1959 a group of volunteers from Mansfield,Ohio started to produce driver education films with footage of actual car accidents taken around parts of Central Ohio.   My eldest sister was the first in our family to see one of them in driver's ed, the first film made entitled "Signal 30" which is a code that the Highway Patrol uses for a fatality due to a car crash.   It was in this film that my father was  responding to an accident that happened in Cardington, Ohio.  I remember him talking to my sister about some of the accidents shown in the film.   My father never talked much about his time in the Patrol as most of his experiences were upsetting as some were when he was over in Korea.  My father quit The Patrol in 1977.
 I experienced "Safety Town" as a child  started by Richard Wayman who put together The Highway Safety  Films and watched a film produced by "The Highway Safety Foundation" called   "The Child Molester" and how shocking it was for me to watch .  It was based off the murders of two little girls from Mansfield,Ohio, again featuring actual footage.  I remember how scared I was after seeing that film.
For years after that, time sorta erased it from my memory and when I came of driving age I remember seeing another film in my driver's education class produced by the same people entitled "Options To Live", again I had forgotten about as life went on. 
I rediscovered all of it in 2003 online, when curiosity prompted me to look up dad's  time in The Ohio State Highway Patrol and those old Highway Films.   I received  copies of the Highway films on V.H.S tape (except The Child Molester)  and discovered that they had produced a new film (signal 30 Tragedy and Hope) to commemorate the anniversary of the first film produced in 1959.   Again taken from actual footage and contained a message by the supernatant of The Ohio State Highway Patrol. 
Also in 2003 the film "Hell's Highway" The True Story Of Highway Safety Films was made by Bret Wood and had its own web page.  The film was shown in area Libraries and can be obtained through KINO VIDEO.  Be warned  This film contains graphic violence and brief sexual activity.  Viewer discretion is advised.
There has been debate on whether these films were effective.  In my experience in watching them, I would say that they were for me.  Its made me a better driver for myself and others on the roads.  The advice my father gave me when I was learning to drive and as he was lighthearted and humorous in a normal way, he was serious about what he had been taught through those years as a Ohio State Highway Patrolman.  A drill Sergeant behind the wheel and in the passenger seat.  He'd tell me  " A car is a useful servant, a necessity but also it can be a weapon..so take care and think of others on the roadways, your life and lives of others are in your hands whenever you are behind the wheel."