The first known speeding ticket was issued on January 28, 1896. Surprisingly, the driver, Walter Arnold, was only going 8 mph, a remarkably slow pace for today’s driving standards! The English road where he got the ticket on had a speed limit of 2 mph.
Why was the speed limit so low?
Unfortunately, Arnold lived in a time where horses were still commonplace, and few people knew how to drive an automobile. In order for everyone to be safe, the speed limit had to be that low.
Who Was He?
Walter Arnold was no ordinary motorist. He was one of the first car dealers in the country, and a supplier for Carl Benz vehicles. Arnold also set up his own company, producing motor carriages. He was often called “ahead of his time” and was certainly a game changer for how the automobile works today.
In conclusion, Walter Arnold was a great motorist, but probably shouldn’t have been driving so fast. After all, he was going at a rate of four times the speed limit. This could’ve posed a danger for people who were walking and in carriages.