Amazing Restored Video Shows London Traffic In The 1940s

Have you ever wondered what traffic was like 80 years ago? Thanks to rare archival footage we get to see a typical day of driving in London that has been restored and colorized for your viewing pleasure. In today’s world of crowded streets filled with computer-filled SUVs with massage seats, let's take a step back in time to see what things were like in 1940s London. Thanks to YouTube channel NASS you can time travel with your smartphone.

The London of today is far different from the same city that stood in the 1940s. Although the general layout of streets remains very similar much has changed. In this video, we get a glimpse into London in the early 1940s. Although many commenters on YouTube have asserted that this footage comes from the 1930s you can see barrage balloons in place to defend against the Luftwaffe during World War II.

In this video, we get the unique opportunity to see pedestrians, horse drawing carriages, and cars all living in harmony. Horse pulled wagons were used to moved material around London during this period alongside the new mechanized transportation trucks that would soon dominate this industry.

The traffic flow in London seems far less congested than the modern-day city which is mostly thanks to the lack of cars. Today almost every household has at least one car which congest the smaller streets that thrived during the 1940s. This simpler time of inner-city motoring reminds us of a time when cars were coming of age surrounded by older transportation methods that were slowly fading away.

We find ourselves at another paradigm shift in the way we use transportation. Improved public transit, remote working, and electric vehicles are all shifting the landscape of modern-day London’s roads.