Furious Driving! March 8, 1882

There have been numerous reports of reckless driving on our roads, but the problem goes back centuries.

Here’s a story from The Evening Telegram dated Friday, March 8, 1882. This article is written as it was back then, with no corrections

Reckless Driving -Narrow Escape of Two Ladies.

Reckless driving is a misdemeanour, we do not care to characterize it by a harder term, very much complained of lately, and not without cause.

Indeed, so reckless are some of those persons who regularly appear on the public streets in charge of horses and sleighs that elderly pedestrians feel not a little apprehension while proceeding to and from their places of business, particularly after night.

Now, we have already called attention to this important matter, several times, we do so again, not in a spirit of fault-finding, but simply for the purpose of emphasizing it in the eyes of our police authorities.

During the past few days several accidents, fortunately, however, without serious results, have occurred on some of our principal thoroughfares, and these should be enough to make the necessity for more caution sufficiently obvious to every reasonable mind. 

On Wednesday, two persons were brought before the Magistrates and severely fined for “furious driving”, and many other convictions are recorded in the police docket for the same offence. Nevertheless, the reprehensible practice still goes on with as much impunity as ever.

Last evening a person whose name we failed to ascertain, drove a horse and sleigh down Prescott Street at a most alarming rate, and swept round the corner of Mr. Crossman’s house, narrowly escaping the consequences of a serious accident.

Two ladies who happened to be coming up Duckworth Street at the time barely avoided being run over. The cloak worn by one of them having sustained some injury from a shaft of the sleigh. Both appeared to be very much frightened and certainly they had good reason. We deem it our duty to make these remarks, feeling assured that the Inspector of Police will regard them as worthy of thoughtful consideration.

I guess, we are still waiting for that to happen. It’s only been 144 years!