2 kids were killed in Forest Grove, Oregon hiding in a leaf pile on the edge of the road to surprise dad when Dad came back outside but instead were run over by teens deciding to drive the the leaf piles...
All the other terrible mishaps in that booklet are also based on true horrible incidents. The total spirit of the booklet is something that in today's standards is not suitable for young children. But aparntly in the 50s when childern were left to roam the streets by themselves, it was ok.
The "city" on the side of the car implies that it's a vehicle of city cleaning. It could be some other city service, but then it would be oddly specific. Does the city cleaning service just run over piles of leaves where the artist comes from, instead of shoving them aside? The latter would still be painful but arguably not lethal.
That aside, where do you find leaf piles just out on the road? Don't they tend to be the result of, you know, being shoved off the street by city cleaning?
That aside aside, if anything, that cartoon is an argument for banning cars instead of telling kids not to play in leaves.
Okay, rant over. (I accidentally typed "rent over" at first. If only.)