The history of motoring around the world is long and fascinating, as well as throwing up a few surprises along the way.
The following are a few important parts of the history of cars and driving that you might not be aware of yet.
The Very First Working Cars
There are a few different contenders for the title of the first ever working car. As far back as 1672 we can find that a steam powered toy vehicle was made for the Chinese Emperor, although it was too small to be ridden on! There was also a steam buggy put on show at the Stanstead Fair in Canada in 1867. Arguably the first vehicles that we could call proper modern cars were the steam driven ones built in France by Amédée Bollée from 1873 onwards. Even earlier in France there was the car created by Nicholas Joseph Cugnot and built by M.Bresin in 1769, although its slow speed and tendency to tip over made it rather impractical. The USA was where the car achieved mass popularity first of all and the first vehicles on the roads there were steam powered ones like the automobile built by Dr J W Carhart in 1872.
The First Cars on British Roads
It isn’t entirely clear when the first full size, working car was driven on British roads. The very first one that resembled a modern car might have been the vehicle built by Frederick William Bremer in Walthamstow in 1894 or it might have been a Benz Velo imported by Henry Hewetson in the same year. Whichever one was first, it is estimated that by the time 1895 had ended there were up to 15 cars on British roads. By the time the 19th century has ended the number could be measured in hundreds. It would take until 1930 for there to be a million cars on British roads and the figure has continued to grow ever since then.
The First Drunk Driver
How long do you think that it took from the introduction of cars to the first driver getting charged with a drink driving offence? The truth is that it didn’t take long at all. History shows that a 25 year taxi driver called George Smith was arrested in 1897 after he had crashed into a building in London. The fine was 25 shillings and it isn’t clear if the car was badly damaged in the crash. Smith certainly didn’t have the benefit of modern car repair sites such as MyCarNeedsA.com.
The Red Flag Act
One of the most important features of British motoring in the early days was the so called Red Flag Act. This was officially known as the Locomotives on Highways Act and was introduced in 1865. Under this law someone has to walk in front of every type of road going vehicle waving a red flag as a warning. It was seen by many as stifling the growth of the car industry in the country. This law was finally abolished in 1896, by which time the speed limit was lower, lights were compulsory and every car had to have an instrument on it capable giving off an audible warning. These days, the car’s safety features are as important as ever and a good car service in Birmingham or elsewhere should keep it running smoothly and safely.
The First Traffic Signals
Technically, the first traffic signals in the world were erected outside the Houses of Parliament in London and were first used in 1868.They didn’t look like the signals we are used to today and used gas lamps. Sadly, they blew up the following year and either killed or injured the policeman who was operating them. The first modern traffic signals as we now know them were installed in the USA. Cleveland, Ohio got stop-go lights in 1914 and 5 years later 3 coloured lights were fitted in Detroit. By 1922 electronically synchronised traffic lights were in use in Houston, Texas.
The First Fatalities
You might think the first road fatalities didn’t happen until there were lots of cars on the road going at high speeds. However, this isn’t the case. The very first person to lose their life in a car accident was pedestrian Bridget Driscoll, in 1896. The speed the car was going at is shrouded in mystery, with a number of different accounts given, although it seems unlikely that it was travelling very fast by modern standards.
The coroner declared it an “accidental death” and rather optimistically expressed his hope that this kind of thing would never happen again. As for the first driver to be killed in an accident, this was Henry Lindfield of Brighton, whose electric vehicle turned over in 1898. He had been going at 16mph and after having his leg amputated he died of shock.
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