As entertaining as this is, it's doing a disservice to the viewing public. It's teaching us the wrong things about safe driving and skilled car handling. Here are the top 4 things you'll see in movies that you'll never see on real roads.
- Long conversations without looking at the road: Directors and actors love eye contact during a conversation. And that rule of directorship 101 seems to extend to conversations that two characters have in the car. The driver and passengers can drive at high speeds down the street but will face each other for most of the conversation. We never see the driver actually watch the road! Safe driving tip: Don't do that. Safe drivers never take their eyes of the road.
- Weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds: In every car chase, the heroes and villains of the movie chase each other around through heavy traffic. And on those roads, every car maintains perfect speed and direction (and plenty of space around each vehicle), allowing the main characters to slalom through traffic. But it doesn't really happen that way. Drivers aren't predictable and if we hear guns shooting and see crazy drivers in our mirrors, we are likely to react in panic rather than remain three car-lengths behind the car in front of us. Safe driving tip: Don’t weave through traffic like you're being chased by maniacs intent on taking over the world.
- Expert handling: Some movies depict car chases on deserted highways but those aren't nearly as riveting for viewers as a car chase through a busy street, filled with cars and pedestrians. But in those scenes, the cars are expertly handled on the streets (and on the sidewalks!) and aside from an overturned apple cart, there isn't a lot of damage. These drivers can drift and slide and skid with ease and have all the room and confidence to do so. But it doesn't really work like that. Safe driving tip: Stay on the road, keep your distance, slow down, and maneuver predictably.
- No one gets hurt: Most movies will show the villains get hurt and plenty of gun play but all the non-storyline characters (i.e. "man in crowd", "woman with baby", etc.) remain completely unscathed. Even in movies like Speed, when the bus hits the baby carriage, viewers are relieved (but not really surprised) when it's discovered that the carriage is full of cans and not an actual baby. Unfortunately, in the real world, driving like crazy injures innocent bystanders… and baby carriages contain babies. Safe driving tip: Remember that your driving decisions can impact other people.
And there are many more tips that we haven't mentioned! Driving without seatbelts, driving while talking on the phone, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, driving while shooting (DEFINITELY don't do that one), driving through buildings… all of these are commonplace in movies but fool us into thinking that we are safe and in control behind the wheel.
Hollywood movies are fun to watch but we must be extra careful to make sure that we do not adopt the Hollywood driving mindset when we get into the driver's seat.
