"Il faut épater les bourgeois."
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Speeding and other offence
According to a report, a 54-year old German man, Guenther Eichman, was stopped by police in Geseke, Germany, for espeedingf down a busy street doing 40mph (where the speed limit was 20mph).
And his vehicle? A modified electric wheelchair.
Eichmann was a former engineer and had used his expertise to modify the wheelchair's electric motor. The wheelchair was confiscated in addition to a fine.
Earlier Speeding offence
In the UK, the speed limit was introduced by the Locomotive Act 1865 but according to an article, the first speeding offence did not take place until 1896. Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person in UK to be successfully charged with speeding at a staggering 8mph, four times the 2mph speed limit for towns and was fined 1 shilling (5p) plus costs. Arnold apparently sped past the local constablefs house just as the officer was starting to have his dinner. The officer gave chase on a bicycle and managed to catch up with Arnold after a five miles sprint.
One year earlier, on 17 October 1895, John Knight and his assistant James Pullinger were charged with using a locomotive without a licence and their case were heard at the Farnham Town Hall on 31 October 1895, where both were fined 2s 6d and ordered to use their vehicle only on farm road (source: Museum of Farnham).
Transportation Acts
The first UK Transportation Act 1718 had little to do with traffic offence but allowed the courts to sentence felons guilty of offences to seven years ftransportationf to America. In 1776 transportation was halted because of the outbreak of war with America but resumed in 1787 with a new destination: Australia.
The last transportation took place in 1868 when 451 prisoners arrived in Fremantle in Western Australia.
December 2007
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