{"id":6162,"date":"2021-02-05T14:44:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T20:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drivesafeonline.org\/?p=6162"},"modified":"2024-04-10T14:55:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:55:18","slug":"first-speeding-ticket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drivesafeonline.org\/traffic-school\/the-first-speeding-ticket\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Speeding Ticket"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have received a speeding ticket, you know the feeling when you see the flashing lights in your rearview mirror. <\/span>Take frustration, mix in some\u00a0<\/span>confusion, and add a little nervousness and you get the idea.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It can be an emotional experience.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we are used to seeing patrol cars parked along the streets and highways monitoring traffic speed with radar guns. It wasn\u2019t always that efficient. In fact, stopping drivers for speeding\u00a0<\/span>in the early days of motor vehicles\u00a0<\/span>was an exhausting endeavor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Initial\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Speed Limit<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Wasn\u2019t Too Speedy<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

On<\/span>\u00a0a cold day in\u00a0<\/span>the winter of 1896<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>Paddock Wood, Kent (England)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>constable was patrolling his beat<\/span>\u00a0on his police vehicle<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0F<\/span>rom<\/span>\u00a0all indications, it was likely just another relatively uneventful day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly<\/span>, a speeding motorist zipp<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0by the constable. The driver was clearly breaking the law<\/span>\u00a0with his outrageously unsafe behavior<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>he constable immediately gave chase<\/span>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>on his bicycle<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>(this was 1896, remember)<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A hot pursuit followed\u00a0<\/span>taking<\/span>\u00a0five miles for the constable to stop the speeding driver.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He breathlessly approached the car.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>he driver<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0Walter Arnold<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0was a car dealer and sold\u00a0<\/span>Benzs<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>a car we now call Mercedes Benz.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span>ir<\/span>\u00a0conversation may have\u00a0<\/span>gone<\/span>\u00a0something like this:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Constable: [Gasping for breath] \u201cDidn\u2019t you\u2026[gasp]<\/span>\u2026<\/span>\u00a0see me chasing you?\u00a0<\/span>[<\/span>G<\/span>asp, gasp<\/span>.<\/span>] Couldn\u2019t you hear me\u2026 [gasp]\u2026 shouting at you\u2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[gasp<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0gasp]<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u2026\u00a0<\/span>for the past five miles<\/span><\/i>\u2026[gasp]\u2026 to pull over?!?!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walter Arnold: \u201cI say, Constable, you really should petition your superiors to provide you an upgraded police mount<\/span>\u00a0– like<\/span>\u00a0one of my new Benz motor<\/span>cars<\/span>. It\u2019s the finest in German engineering, you know, old boy.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he Constable<\/span>\u00a0gave Arnold a ticket – the\u00a0<\/span>first<\/span><\/i>\u00a0speeding ticket in recorded history<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>– thoroughly pleasing Arnold<\/span>. For you see, Arnold was one of the world\u2019s first auto dealers as well as manufacturers. He sold Benz cars as well as his own Arnold \u201cmotor carriages.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting a ticke<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0for going a blazing\u00a0<\/span>8 MPH<\/span>\u00a0through town and being pursued for five miles by the constable was\u00a0<\/span>great publicity<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span>But, in a day where most traffic was pedestrian or equestrian<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>speed limit<\/span>\u00a0for these new \u201chorseless carriages\u201d was\u00a0<\/span>only\u00a0<\/span><\/i>2 MPH<\/span><\/i>. That\u00a0<\/span>kept them<\/span>\u00a0slow enough that people and horses could\u00a0<\/span>easily\u00a0<\/span>get out of their way. And, they wouldn\u2019t make so much noise they would panic any horses on the streets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Driving Habits Form\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Modern Traffic Laws<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ever heard the<\/span>\u00a0old saying that \u201claws are usually written with someone\u2019s blood<\/span>?<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>raffic laws<\/span>\u00a0are written to prevent the accidental spilling of someone\u2019s blood\u00a0<\/span>because of<\/span>\u00a0a traffic accident. Another\u00a0<\/span>one<\/span>\u00a0tells us \u201cSpeed Kills.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0Did you know that in 2018<\/span>\u00a0alone<\/span>, speeding killed 9,378 people?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In 2017, speeding was a contributing factor in 26%\u00a0<\/span>–\u00a0<\/span>or in one out of every four<\/span><\/i>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>of all traffic fatalities<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speed can even be a factor in accidents even when traveling at or below the\u00a0<\/span>speed limit.<\/span>\u00a0How can that be, you may be asking? What about going faster than road conditions would permit in ice, rain<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0or snow?\u00a0 Or when the road is under repair? What about \u201coverdriving your\u00a0<\/span>headlights\u201d (not being able to stop inside the illuminated area ahead)?<\/span>\u00a0Any of these are unsafe even though you may be driving at the posted\u00a0<\/span>speed limit<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speeding\u00a0<\/span>affects everyone on or near the roadway, not just the speeding driver. This includes passengers, pedestrians, road repair people and even law enforcement officers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>And\u00a0<\/span>speeding tickets<\/span>\u00a0on your\u00a0<\/span>driving record<\/span>\u00a0can raise your insurance rates.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One way you can increase the chances that you\u2019ll \u201cdrive to arrive alive\u201d is easy; you can\u00a0<\/span>refresh your road knowledge by taking one of our defensive driving courses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>And, depending on where you live<\/span>, your state laws<\/span>\u00a0and what insurance you have, a\u00a0<\/span>driver improvement\u00a0<\/span>course may help\u00a0<\/span>you get a discount on your vehicle insurance\u00a0<\/span>or avoid a\u00a0<\/span>traffic violation<\/span>\u00a0going on your\u00a0<\/span>driving record<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have received a speeding ticket, you know the feeling when you see the flashing lights in your rearview mirror. Take frustration, mix in some\u00a0confusion, and add a little nervousness and you get the idea.\u00a0\u00a0It can be an emotional experience.\u00a0\u00a0 Today, we are used to seeing patrol cars parked along the streets and highways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6163,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-traffic-school"],"yoast_head":"\nThe First Speeding Ticket - DriveSafe Online\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On a cold day in the winter of 1896, the first speeding ticket was issued. 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