GEN-ERIC News

August 27th. The automobile was only a few years old when drivers began to get into trouble for speeding. The first known speeding ticket was issued to cab driver Jacob German in 1899 in New York City, cited by a policeman on a bicycle for driving at the breakneck speed of 12 miles an hour on Lexington Avenue. His license and registration were not confiscated, because neither were required until two years later. Across the nation, more than 100,000 people a day receive speeding tickets. The average citation costs $150 and often, a hefty increase in insurance rates. Nearly 43,000 people die each year in traffic accidents in the U.S. In more than 13,000 of these cases, speed is a factor in the accident.