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Bicycle Today - Automobile Tomorrow (1969)

Shows graphically how one should check his bike for mechanical soundness and how to keep it in good running condition. Pictures a boy and a girl demonstrating the importance of knowing the correct bicycle rules and regulations before riding in traffic and how to ride safely.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Production Company: Davis (Sid) Productions
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: need keyword

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Marysz - - January 7, 2012
Subject: Kids On Their Own
An unnamed boy is told how to take care of his bike and bike safely. This is from the days when bikes were kids' only transportation most of the time. It never would have occurred to parents to chauffeur kids around like they do today. This movie actually has a brief scene in which a father helps his kids learn to bike-ride; responsible fathers are not a common sight in Sid Davis movies. Usually a law enforcement officer acts as a paternal stand in.

As in the other Sid Davis safety films, there are scarily shot scenes of kids in traffic. Even though there is much less traffic than there is today, these children still seem awfully vulnerable. There's a sense of children whose parents and other adults aren't around to look after them. They have to fend for themselves, for better or worse.

Reviewer: uniQ - - April 17, 2011
Subject: "you may not enjoy your bicycle for long"
I found this useful information, if somewhat dully presented. Nothing bad happens to anyone (!) except someone's bicycle gets run over by a car.

Reviewer: Framan - - June 11, 2005
Subject: I enjoyed this rundown on bicycle maintenance
I quite enjoyed this summary of caring for your bicycle and knowing the rules of the road. The B&W era footage was also a blast.

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - May 10, 2005
Subject: Safety Films a Day After That
This Sid Davis film manages to take all the fun out of bike riding by giving out rules, rules, and more rules. Especially tedious are all the rules of bike maintenance shown, none of which I ever followed as a kid, except for stopping by the gas station to fill my tires at the air pump, which was fun. There aren't even any bad examples or gruesome accidents, so Sid Davis must have been sleeping through this one. It might bring back some bike-riding memories if you were a kid during the 60s, though.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ***.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - May 10, 2005
Subject: Ahhh how times have changed!
In this Sid Davis film, bicyclists are shown to be polite, obey the rules of the road, and respect the right of ways of pedestrians and other vehicles. Kind of bizarre when you look at it now, as it seems bicyclists (well, ok not all of them) do everything that is NOT explained in this film nowadays. Anyways, the kid in the film drives a rather cool 'corvette' bicycle, (worth 850 bucks today) and has an inappropiate attachment to police officers. How cool is that?

Reviewer: MediaWhore - - June 14, 2004
Subject: Brain Bucket
I love how all these old bicycle safety films go into lengthy precaution guidelines but never mention a word about wearing a helmet. Nowadays almost all parents would never dream about letting little Johnie ride in the street without one!!

Reviewer: cashel - - March 18, 2004
Subject: essential
Another fine Sid Davis film and it is surprising that it has been viewed only 99 times. It is obvious that family instruction in road safety is vital and surely this 10 minute film has a place. I rarely see parents cycling with children(perhaps they would feel foolish) I woild eagerly read opinions ,observations and information from other forum members