This 1896 Arnold Benz Was The First Motor Car To Get A Speeding Ticket

Receiving a speeding ticket might be fairly common in today's time, but getting caught for over-speeding in the 19th century is quite unheard of. Especially, when you consider the average speed limit for any motor vehicle back then was 3.2 kmph. It was a time when the world of automobiles was taking baby steps, quite literally, and there were very few who had an internal combustion engine a.k.a. ICE-powered vehicle. So believe me when I say that we were as astonished as you are when we first read about the Arnold Benz, the first motor car in the world to get a speeding ticket.

The year was 1896 and the person driving this iconic Arnold was Walter Arnold a racer and one of the owners of William Arnold & Sons of East Peckham, Kent in the United Kingdom. The company was the first to have acquired a licence to build Benz cars and sell them in the UK. This 1896 Arnold is based on the Benz car, which was fitted with Arnold's own engine. Walter, who was just a young boy back then, was speeding on his Arnold Benz at 13 kmph, four times the amount of the official speed limit (yes there were those). Walter was caught by a policeman who had chased the car on a bicycle, and Arnold was fined 1 shilling (old British currency) plus costs for over-speeding thus becoming the first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK.

Interestingly, soon after this incident, the 3.2 kmph speed limit was raised to 22.5 kmph. This change became a big moment of celebration and locals organised a special race to rejoice it. And Walter Arnold competed in this race and even won a gold medal. Known as the Emancipation Run, the race is still in practice and is currently the longest-running motoring event in the world; called as the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.