First Speeding Arrest Anniversary Man stopped for massive 12mph in 1899

Pistonheads, Friday 20th May 2005

In light of the glut of speeding news this week, it seems only fitting to celebrate today's anniversary of the first ever speeding conviction -- albeit in the US -- on 20 May 1899.

Jacob German, operator of a taxicab for the Electric Vehicle Company, became the first driver in the US to be arrested for speeding when he was stopped by Bicycle Roundsman Schueller for driving at the "breakneck" speed of 12mph on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. German was booked and held in jail at the East Twenty-second Street station house. He was, of course, not made to hand over his licence and registration, as neither item was required until two years later in the State of New York.

In the UK, the first person ever to be convicted of speeding was John Henry Knight of Farnham. He built the first British petrol-engine driven road vehicle in 1895, a two-seater, three-wheeled car, maxing out at 12 mph. It was later converted to a four-wheeled layout and in this form it was the only British motor car at the 1896 exhibition at the Crystal Palace. The museum in Farnham has a permanent exhibition featuring the life and inventions of John Henry Knight.