The Safe Driver is a Courteous Driver

Public safety poster for Allied drivers during WWII.

This poster was drawn by Ralph Moses and published by the National Safety Council as part of the Army Air Forces Ground Safety Program. The overt message praising safe driving seems common sense nowadays, but reckless driving was a serious problem on U.S. bases across the world during WWII. Many local populations had minimal exposure to motorized vehicles, and had little understanding of how to react around them.

Drivers were so dangerous in North Africa that the Allied forces developed a table of compensation for families who had loved ones (or animals) maimed or killed by the numerous jeeps and trucks operating at full tilt in the theater. Even commanding officers were not immune. On November 28th, 1944, the staff car of Major General Mark Clark hit and killed a young Algerian boy on its way to operational headquarters. Similar incidents occurred in France, Italy and on islands throughout the Pacific, especially Okinawa.

References

Atkinson, R. (2002). An Army at Dawn. New York: Henry Holt and Co.