The 1970s were a deeply strange time. The U.S. was at the tail end of a lost war, the President wept on TV and quit his job, Three Mile Island almost melted down and “Jaws” came out. A lot was going on. It’s no wonder that so many PSAs were dedicated to making sure you didn’t take your frustration with the world with you behind the wheel.
There’s something really special about public safety announcements from the 1970s. They were all just so, I don’t know, weird. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them, and many share the same messages. However, they all find very unique, and almost surreal, ways of conveying their messaging.
For whatever reason over the past few days my social media feeds have been inundated with old PSA that usually have to do with being bad behind the wheel of a car. Because of that, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at some of my favorite automotive-related PSAs from the 1970s. There’s a lot of very strange stuff in here, so buckle up (there is indeed a PSA about wearing your seatbelt).