The first drink-driving conviction may have happened in London

(ianvisits.co.uk)

16 points | by beardyw 11 hours ago ago

28 comments

  • rwmj 3 hours ago

    > 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.

    • embedding-shape 2 hours ago

      Back in the day in my country, you could apparently get milder punishment if you were driving while drunk, because it's harder to steer properly then. From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABilkrock_i_%C3%A5s...:

      > In 1928, a serious accident involving considerable property damage occurred on the main road [...] At the subsequent trial in Klippan, it was said that the Örkelljunga resident, who had caused the accident, received a more lenient sentence because he had been drinking spirits and therefore had difficulty steering.

      Different times :)

      • HPsquared 44 minutes ago

        It is a form of temporary insanity, I suppose (though self-induced).

    • backhold an hour ago

      This is also how one would obtain a firearm or shotgun certificate - apply at the post office for a few (shillings?). I believe when introduced these certificates weren't even mandatory to purchase or own a firearm, and merely served to evidence your good character if a firearm dealer didn't like the look of you.

    • OptionOfT 9 minutes ago

      In Belgium it was until 1977 that you could buy the license.

    • cjs_ac 2 hours ago

      My grandfather got his driving licence in 1940s Australia without doing a test, because the police sergeant who was supposed to conduct the test couldn't be bothered and was more interested in a ten-shilling note.

  • ortusdux 2 hours ago

    Reminds me of the old 1980's news clip of people reacting to California's DUI laws - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ

    • hydhyd 2 hours ago

      I watched this clip several times and don't think it's California, based on a) the southern accents of both interviewees and b) the guy's hat which I /think/ says "Fort Worth". My guess is this is in Texas and is a reaction to the implementation of 0.08% BAC and/or other changes urged by MADD in the 80s/90s.

      • lawiejrliawj 2 hours ago

        Oh yeah, definitely Texas. I remember my parents raving during the 2000 election that Bush's DUI was a non-issue because "he didn't kill anyone". I remember when seat belt requirements went into effect, my family members getting several tickets each, so proud to refuse to use safety devices. I remember my parents arguing with cops about their unspecified "medical condition" that prevented them from wearing seat belts, or us their kids as well. Texans are cavemen. So far behind culturally.

        • philipallstar 20 minutes ago

          > So far behind culturally.

          That's the most positive thing you could say about them. Cultural fashions are like any fashion: just based on "latest", and thus adhered to by even the smoothest of brains. Having said that, although I like their commitment to noncompliance in theory, seatbelt laws are not the place to do it in practice.

    • toast0 2 hours ago

      I watched some old driver safety films on DVD a while back. The attitudes were way different, the message on drunk driving was "you probably wouldn't be legally drunk for two, maybe three beers, but your reaction time will be terrible and you will live with regret if you hurt or killed someone, so don't do it."

      • wild_egg an hour ago

        As an old person, what's the modern attitude?

        • AngryData an hour ago

          That if your drink a single drink within 8 hours of driving you are a filthy criminal that will have blood drawn and thrown in the drunk tank until monday unless you post bail and will have to go to court and prove your innocence with a lawyer.

          • jeffbee an hour ago

            Defensive alcoholics are a great accompaniment to yesterday's reflexive hatred of self-driving cars. Human drivers are really showing their whole selves this week.

            • AngryData 35 minutes ago

              Obviously you haven't pointlessly sat in a jail cell for 12 hours because you had an empty folded box in your back seat after sleeping 8 hours from one of the two times you drink in a year. How dare I have a 0.005 bac! Thats the equivalent of using alcohol based mouthwash before driving!

            • weezing 13 minutes ago

              In my country there are people who defend alcohol like some kind of an idol. Damn junkies.

        • ralfd an hour ago

          Zero alcohol

          • weezing 15 minutes ago

            They way it should be

  • walthamstow 2 hours ago

    > 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

    • embedding-shape 2 hours ago

      Horses are very easy to trip if you can get close enough, at least close enough to be able to throw something if nothing else. Lassos help also and is a bit less violent.

    • jaffa2 2 hours ago

      Gun, possibly?

      • orbital-decay 2 hours ago

        Mounting, wedging, steering uphill, forcing the head into a turn, etc. Tripping and especially firearms were used as a last resort, there's plenty of ways to do that without permanently injuring or killing the horse.

  • dabeeeenster 3 hours ago

    "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.

    • rwmj 3 hours ago

      "I assure you I'm not, officer. Honestly. I've only had a few ales."

  • flippyhead 2 hours ago

    Is drink driving where you are drinking something while driving? That seems fine. Drinking alcohol while driving is maybe bad though.

    • zamadatix an hour ago

      "'Am I drunk' what exactly, officer?" has probably been the basis of some good skits.

    • kotaKat 2 hours ago

      As once before said: If they didn't want you to drink, John Deere wouldn't have put a cupholder on it. C'mon, that's entrapment!

  • raverbashing 2 hours ago

    Title is confusing, it should be "The first conviction ever recorded may have happened in London"