Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avigan.

This day, May 20, 1901, Connecticut becomes the first state to pass a law regulating motor vehicles,

more specifically passing the first speed limit law for cars in the United States.

Now listeners, I'm going to give you a moment to guess what the speed limit was in

1901, the fastest you could go, the answer in 3, 2, 1, 12 miles per hour.

That is the fastest you could go in 19-01, that's in the city,

when you get into the country, you could really open up the throttle and drive 15 miles per hour really let your

hair down set loose.

Here to discuss the first speed limit law for cars in the United States.

As always, Nicole Hammer of Columbia and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley.

Hello there.

Hello Jody.

Hey there.

So Kelly, some context, this is not the first speed limit law in general in the United States, right?

No, so these laws are really old. They actually date back to 1652 in the colony of New

Amsterdam, which is now New York, issued a decree that no wagons, carts, or slays shall run, road, or

be driven at a gallop at the risk of incurring a fine of two pounds Flemish or about a hundred and fifty dollars in today's currency so speeding was no joke even in 1652 and so the the limit there was Gallup. Yeah, Gallup more of an eye test but you know

want to keep it at a trot. And that's not an insignificant amount of money.

So I mean, clearly they were trying to regulate this.

Or, or maybe they were just trying to raise some funds

like they do now, right?

...