BuffaloBillsfan
Well-known member
05/20/1899
120 years ago Jacob German was arrested on this day in 1899 for driving at the blistering speed of 12 mph. The speed limit he blasted past? Eight mph between streets, and 4 mph around corners.
He is unlucky enough to be remembered forever as "the first man arrested for running an automobile too fast."
What's so fascinating about German's arrest is how utterly strange it sounds today. His offending speed is what we'd consider an unbearably crawl. He was driving an electric car (taxi service). And he was chased down for speeding by a policeman on bicycle.
I was wondering what the earliest documented speeding ticket was so I googled it, and this is how I came upon the above information.
120 years ago Jacob German was arrested on this day in 1899 for driving at the blistering speed of 12 mph. The speed limit he blasted past? Eight mph between streets, and 4 mph around corners.
He is unlucky enough to be remembered forever as "the first man arrested for running an automobile too fast."
What's so fascinating about German's arrest is how utterly strange it sounds today. His offending speed is what we'd consider an unbearably crawl. He was driving an electric car (taxi service). And he was chased down for speeding by a policeman on bicycle.
I was wondering what the earliest documented speeding ticket was so I googled it, and this is how I came upon the above information.