The first drink-driving conviction may have happened in London
On 10 September 1897, London taxi driver George Smith became the first person convicted of drink-driving, possibly worldwide. He was driving a Bersey electric cab, which swerved and crashed on New Bond Street. Smith admitted to drinking 'two or three glasses of beer' and was fined 20 shillings. The case predated driving licences and breathalysers, relying on a law originally meant for horse-drawn carriages.
The magistrate warned Smith that drivers of the new machines needed to be particularly careful. Police, he observed, had developed ways of stopping a runaway horse, but stopping a runaway motor car was another matter entirely.
- rwmj
> it would not be until 1904 that driving licences and vehicle registration numbers were introduced
A fun fact is that for many years, to get a driving license you just had to apply at the Post Office. There was no test at all. My grandmother obtained her license this way in the 1930s, and drove on the same license right through til she became too unwell to drive in the 1990s, and never took a test.
- ortusdux
Reminds me of the old 1980's news clip of people reacting to California's DUI laws - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ
- walthamstow
> Police, he observed, had developed ways of stopping a runaway horse, but stopping a runaway motor car was another matter entirely.
I'm curious about the ways of stopping a horse
- dabeeeenster
"The following day, he appeared at Marlborough Street Police Court, where he admitted that he had consumed “two or three glasses of beer”."
19th Century version of a few small beers.
- flippyhead
Is drink driving where you are drinking something while driving? That seems fine. Drinking alcohol while driving is maybe bad though.