Do you know where the first speeding ticket originated?
Do you know just how many speeding tickets American’s get each year?
You may be surprised.
The premier speeding ticket was awarded to a lead-footed New York City taxi driver on May 20, 1899. Yes, that’s approximately 115 years ago. What was his offense exactly? He was blazing through downtown Manhattan at a blistering 12 miles per hour. Brutal, right? Not quite. At the time, the speed limit was 8 miles per hour, as long as you were on a straightaway. For his offense, the driver was arrested and imprisoned in the East 22nd Street station house. Scary, right?
Today, you’re far less likely to go straight to jail for a speeding ticket—but you’re far more likely to get one in the first place: Around 41 million speeding tickets are issued each year, according to recent statistics.