1967 UK Kerb Drill PSA Featuring Batman

Friends, in this day and age when the internet makes nearly everything known, it is indeed a joy to be able to stumble upon little nuggets of pop culture goodness you haven’t seen before. Case in point is this public service announcement, which originally aired in May of 1967 in the United Kingdom and focuses on the subject of road safety. It happens to feature none other than Adam West as the Caped Crusader , yes, we can now thrill to Batman demonstrating the Kerb Drill aka the Green Cross Code with the help of some willing British children.

At the time of the Kerb Drill’s release, the extremely popular Batman television series had probably just wrapped up its second season on ABC. Adam West’s appearance as Batman in this public service announcement probably has something to do with the fact that Batman: The Movie had been released in the UK in December of ’66. Although with the popularity of the television show, which was shown on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the UK, is it any wonder that they recruited Adam West to speak to the kids about road safety?

Within the brief minute long PSA, Batman kindly explains that he has taken a quick holiday from Gotham City, to take in the sights of London and enjoy a breather from crime fighting as well. Although the Caped Crusader wants children to know that there is one danger they can never take a break from, the daily threat of vehicular traffic, and the need for them to obey traffic laws. Obviously it is up to Batman to explain the importance of the Kerb Drill, demonstrating it to a group of nearby children.

Not only is the Kerb Drill PSA rather charming and delightful, it was also considered for quite a while to be lost. It was in fact uncovered by the Birmingham based Kaleidoscope organization, a group dedicated to tracking down lost UK television rarities such as this public service announcement. Which as I understand it, when first shared in 2018 it marked the first time in 50 years that the Kerb Drill PSA was seen by the public at large.

VIDEO AND ARTICLE IMAGE PROVIDED BY IAmBirmingham.