It may be common to receive a speeding ticket in our times, but go back to the days when cars started rolling on our planet, it was unheard of.
That is until this Arnold Benz Motor Carriage was caught doing 8mph (13km/h), in 1896, before being pulled over by a police officer on a bicycle.
Its owner, Walter Arnold, who was driving it through Paddock Green in Kent, was convicted of traveling at four times the speed limit, and forced to pay a shilling fine, plus costs.
What is more interesting is that the 2mph (3km/h) speed limit wasn’t the only weird law of the era, as all cars driven then needed to be led by a man on foot, waving a red flat at all times.
Both laws were abolished later in 1896, with the arrival of Locomotives art, and the speed limit was raised to 14mph (23km/h).
Petrol heads of the time, including Walter Arnold, celebrated the accomplishment by racing their vehicles in the Emancipation Run, from London to Brighton.
The competition is still held today, in the form of Royal Automobile Club’s annual Veteran Car Run, in which cars made before 1905 recreate the 67-mile (108km) journey between the two aforementioned cities.
Those looking to see the Arnold Benz that broke the mold can visit to the Concours of Elegance 2017, at the Hampton Court Palace, between September 1 and 3, where it will be joined by some modern-era machines, such as the Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9, and the Harrods-livered McLaren F1 GTR, among others.
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