Hal Jackson (played by William Boyett), an Idaho police officer, shows up to the burial of a Dixon family young man who lost his life in an automobile accident. Hal, a Dixon family friend, decides not to go inside because he believes it would be too painful. Hal finds it difficult to comprehend that the Dixons were a fairly normal family just a few days ago. He describes the events leading up to this death in flashback. In order to help his father, Frank Sr. (Harold Agee), on the family farm, Frank Jr. (Bill Agee) has come home for the summer. Additionally, he pays Betty Hutchins (Christine Lynch), his lover, a visit. Alan (Tim Bosworth), Frank Jr.'s brother, recently passed a driving test and wants to operate Frank Sr.'s new tractor when it arrives at the nearby train station. Frank Jr. takes it home after his father forbids it. Alan finds out that his license has come in the mail the following day. He is so happy that he wants to drive right away and asks his family if they need assistance doing any errands. Hal later arrives at the Dixon residence. Knowing that Alan's license was supposed to arrive, he starts talking to Alan and explains to him the things he needs to know to drive safely, with a focus on railroad crossings. These include paying attention to signal lights, keeping an ear out for train horns, and being cautious when crossing double tracks. Frank Jr. and Betty head home as Jackson completes his advice. Alan requests permission from his father to drive the car into town. Frank Jr. and Betty agree to accompany him to ensure his safe arrival, and his father permits him to do so. As Alan starts down the road, he notices Betty and Frank Jr. ahead of him. They wave to Alan from behind, and he waves back. But the two continue to drive, gazing behind them. When Alan notices a railroad with a train approaching, he frantically tries to tell them to stop waving and look straight ahead. Alan hides his eyes as the two drive straight into the train's path and are hit off-camera as they ignore him and keep waving. In the aftermath, Betty is on a gurney and being carried into the back of an ambulance by solemn medics, the automobile is flattened on its side, and a sheet is pulled over Frank's body nearby. Back in the present, Hal gets into his police car at the burial, resolved to get back on the road to stop future traffic accidents, especially in the name of convenient law breaking. Other fundamental driving safety guidelines, such as not passing on hills or curves, not driving or stopping when tired or sleepy, and not being a distracted driver, are also reiterated, even though the main focus is on driver safety near railroad crossings. Additionally, Alan is given a police record of an accident in which a friend of his died as a result of his careless driving. The film concludes with a nostalgic look back at the early 1900s, when things like horseless carriages were commonplace, four-lane superhighways—still a relatively new idea in the late 1950s—were not even considered, and slower, less congested roads meant fewer driving hazards. Hal warns that his point is that the human body has not changed and that an even greater focus on safety is necessary.