'Reckless' at 4mph
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Evidence given at the inquest on the first person to be killed by a motor vehicle shows that witnesses were as unreliable and prejudiced 83 years ago as they are now. Mrs Bridget Driscoll died after being knocked down by a Rojer-Benz car at Crystal Palace on August 17, 1896.
According to On the Road, published by Greater Manchester Police Traffic Department, a witness said the car was being driven recklessly. Mrs Driscoll's daughter claimed that the driver gave no warning of his approach. Another witness alleged that the car was travelling "as fast as a four-horsedrawn fire-engine!"
They must have been four broken-winded horses of the apocalypse, inspired by visions, for the car's speed was stated to be 4 mph and the driver was ringing his bell.