Police Chase Leads to World’s Very First Speeding Ticket

Author: Jason / Date: October 24, 2022 / Tags: history

(RareCarMarket.com) – Speeding is something many people do on a daily basis, despite knowing they run the risk of getting a ticket. Today, people have come to expect to receive a citation from law enforcement on occasion. But imagine being the very first person in the world to get a speeding ticket. After all, it all had to start somewhere. 

While breaking the law isn’t anything to be proud of, there’s no denying that getting the world’s first speeding citation is a historic moment. The man who was the first to get in trouble for going faster than he should be was Walter Arnold way back in 1896. He was going a whopping 8 mph, which may not seem like speeding, but at that time, he was driving four times the 2 mph speed limit. The event took place in England’s Paddock Wood, Kent, after a constable chased the perpetrator, who was driving a Benz automobile, down on his bicycle. The pursuit covered a surprisingly long five miles. 

In 1899, a police officer, also on a bicycle, chased Jacob German, a taxicab driver, after he broke the 8 mph speed limit in New York City. The driver was traveling at 12 mph and didn’t just get a citation, he went to jail. However, neither German nor Arnold received an actual paper ticket. 

If you go by who received the first actual paper speeding citation, that dubious honor would go to Harry Myers of Dayton, Ohio. In 1904 he was caught driving 12 mph — though the posted speed limit at the time is unclear. 

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