Voice from the past
Page 28
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
0 ometimes we British can be a bit slow on the uptake. On 22 August 1928 a letter to The Times (signed only "Enquirer") commented on the increased speed limit for heavy motor cars from 12mph to 20mph.
"In view of all the admitted dangers, caused mostly by the failure to observe the law regarding speed limit," Enquirer wrote, "cannot the power of the engine used in each type of vehicle be restricted to that allowed and no more? A law to insist that a 20mph-vehicle cannot have an engine capable of higher propulsion would bring comparative safety to everyone..."
Lo and behold 66 years later, on 1 January 1994, speed limiters were introduced to all new trucks setting the maximum limit to 56mph. Whether this outcome was quite what Enquirer had in mind we shall never know. (Enquire; are you out there?—Ed).