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How did cops measure speed in early 1900s?


Guest G. Wayne Miller

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Even more food for thought. I am also seeing where a form of entrapment was used with unmarked vehicles equipped with speedometers would follow a vehicle speeding then pull them over. Not a new tactic, still used here in Virginia with State Troopers but not like they use to driving Mustangs, Camaros, Pickup Trucks, etc... mostly confiscated vehicles.[/quote)

Even more food for thought. I am amazed at how the OP's original question flew off the map from the circa-1900s to "entrapment of Troopers driving Mustangs, Camaros, Pickup Trucks, etc, in 2014..." .

On a second thought it is similar to how the old "Rants & Raves" Forums were the norm. Some things sure go full circle.

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Even more food for thought. I am also seeing where a form of entrapment was used with unmarked vehicles equipped with speedometers would follow a vehicle speeding then pull them over. Not a new tactic, still used here in Virginia with State Troopers but not like they use to driving Mustangs, Camaros, Pickup Trucks, etc... mostly confiscated vehicles.[/quote) Even more food for thought. I am amazed at how the OP's original question flew off the map from the circa-1900s to "entrapment of Troopers driving Mustangs, Camaros, Pickup Trucks, etc, in 2014..." .
Peter, actually the first part of my answer about entrapment was talking about the early 1900s. The latter was just a modern example related.
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I wonder if I have ever been mistake as the police. On the Interstates I like to find the fastest guy and stay just a little behind him. I have noticed them slow a bit when I drive one of my cars.

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The same technique works with deer. And if the guy ahead turns my wife either says "Lost your ticket car." or "Lost your deer car."

Once a friend told me that if my car was faster I would have got the ticket, yeah.

Bernie

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In 1969 PA DOT was set to open a new bridge across the Susquehanna river as well as a 5 mile or so stretch of 4 lane connecting the bridge to the existing highway. At 1:00 in the morning my college roomie convinced me that this would be the perfect opportunity to see what my recently purchased and cobbled back into operating condition '55 XK 140 Jag would do. They were due to open the road at 7:00 the next morning so we drove to the far end of the bridge, moved the barricades so we could gain entry and let 'er rip. Obviously not another car anywhere to be seen, well, except for that State Police car that had apparently been assigned to keep an eye on the closed road, likely to keep guys like myself off of it until it opened. We were scooting along at something over 110 mph when a car suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulled up behind us. Discretion being the better part of valor I backed her down to 80 or so figuring the car tailing us was just some other fools like us. Just as we reached the end of the closed section of highway the red lights started flashing. Nothing I could do but admit to what we had been up to. After checking my license and verifying that I had not been drinking the State cop sent us on our way with just a warning. He must have been young once too. I have never driven anywhere near that fast since.

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In 1965 our Prudential Insurance agent had recently traded his Volvo 122S on a new Pontiac GTO. He got a job as a teacher "in the city" and couldn't keep his old cars. He got $900 for his clean, driving, XK140 OTC. He gave me his freshly painted '56 Studebaker Golden Hawk with a couple of extra hoods (all bent) and the remains of another XK140 DHC that he had pushed into a gully behind his house.

Prices have shifted a bit over those intervening years.

Bernie

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Not sure how "back lot" cars has anything to do with determining speed circa 1900s? I do remember them though. They were advertised daily with the other used car ads from various dealerships. Most called them Mechanic Specials. I don't know what happened to this trend as it faded over time. Guess when cars became too computerized and less novice mechanic fixable is when they faded from the scene? I ran across a newspaper archive page showing these ads not long ago... memories.

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Not sure how "back lot" cars has anything to do with determining speed circa 1900s? I do remember them though. They were advertised daily with the other used car ads from various dealerships. Most called them Mechanic Specials. I don't know what happened to this trend as it faded over time. Guess when cars became too computerized and less novice mechanic fixable is when they faded from the scene? I ran across a newspaper archive page showing these ads not long ago... memories.

Where I work (Toyota dealer) we call them "Manager's Specials". They range between $3000 & $7000 with no warranty.

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Another thing does anyone know how police checked your car to see how good your brakes were without taking them apart when on patrol in the vary early years????????

There are period films for Chrysler products showing how well they perform on police braking tests: Looks like they setup a road block and had each car go through one at a time with them required to get up to some speed and then slam the brakes on at a mark. The distance from that mark to where they stopped was checked to see if they were in compliance. See between 3:20 and 4:50 in this video

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They had a gauge that clamped to the running board that told you how good your brakes were after applying them. A friend has one for sale and I think he said that the officer stands on the running board during the test to monitor it.

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The brake test sounds like it is the opposite of my acceleration test. My Impala is the only car I have with a cup holder. I put a bottle of beer in the cup holder and a friend in the back seat. Then we watch him try to get the beer under full throttle. If you get the beer three times you switch with the driver.

Bernie

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The brake test sounds like it is the opposite of my acceleration test. My Impala is the only car I have with a cup holder. I put a bottle of beer in the cup holder and a friend in the back seat. Then we watch him try to get the beer under full throttle. If you get the beer three times you switch with the driver.

Bernie

UT OH your going to get a bunch of cry babies telling you about having beer in a car. but it does sound like fun.

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  • 1 year later...
On December 2, 2014 at 2:38 PM, Richard Lichtfel said:

Back in those days I had a '53 Jag roadster and my best friend had a Healy 100, we were going to Bloomington for a wedding. The speed limit in Illinois back then was reasonable and proper. Sunday morning on 66, clear & sunny and no traffic. We were cruising at about 100 mph and passed a state highway patrol car, no problem, we were perfectly legal. Now if it was raining or lots of traffic you could be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions. I got a few of those too. Then there was Chicago, they would give a speeding ticket to a parked Jag because it looked fast. But I learned quickly, I folded up a $5 bill and stapled it to my drivers license. I never got another ticket, although my license was filled with holes.

Those were the days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RHL

 

Wandering about " forumspace" today I stumbled upon this entertaining thread. It was not until Fall '65 that I had the opportunity to drive an XK120 roadster around my original home town. Visited old friends and stayed with family for a few days. Somewhere near Lincoln Park my driving skills caught the attention of one of Chicagos finest. And fine he was ! Cussed me out in the most uninhibited streams of obscenities you can imagine ! Warned me against ever necessitating his intercession again. AND THEN LET ME GO ! My kind of gendarme ! No ticket , no bribe ! 

 

What a great trip that was. After fixing a couple of things on the Jag in Seattle , I got to deliver it to the owner who had moved to D.C. I only had to fool with the points several times , no other problems. Even got to visit a sweet young thing in Pennsylvania , and spend a few days in N.Y. City , (first time there). Drove North , and had the pleasure of a visit with David Tunick. I seem to remember a Type 51 Bug' (A ? - C ? , any of you old timers remember that one just sitting out in the 'yard ?). Those were indeed the days ! 

 

Richard , I see you more than enjoy Traditional Jazz. I am a life member of Puget Sound TJS , and stun fellow members , not to mention Piano Players , with an encounter  I enjoyed on 52nd (?) street during the aforementioned trip. I checked before leaving in "Goings on Around Town" in the New Yorker , and saw that Clifford Jackson was playing there. I knew well who he was , so beelined upon arrival. I describe him as the greatest juxtaposition between extraordinary talent and near annonimity of all Stride players.That driving left hand ! Annonimity! A total of 3 of us in that hollow bar. Including the bartender. Sad , sad , sad. Oh , speaking of Stride Piano , surely you know Paul Asaro who hails from your neck of the woods ? Stride , Ragtime , traditional , preservationist , "Fat Babies" and others ? If only we could combine a meet of "our type of cars" (not just some parking lot full of somewhat old used cars with the occasional Model A in inappropriate colors and a loud P.A. system driven to distortion by a young jockey with rings on his fingers and bells on his ears) , with a period exactly correct preservationalist group. Properly miked and driven for the venue. Yeah , "our type of cars". What we who remember referred to as "Antiques" and "Classics" back in the '50s and '60s. The days.  -  Carl

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a) with stop watches

b ) back in the day once you got 5 miles from the coast, Florida was a mass of deserted straight, flat, shell (very high traction, never could understand "up in smoke" until I visited Texas) roads, and big BOP cars were popular because they could handle an hour or two of high speed. FHP officer once told me that if he got within a 1/4 mile of a runner without their slowing down, they got a ticket but if they slowed earlier, they were paying attention.

c) Remember running at 70ish on the SSP and passing a FHP Dodge in the median. He pulled onto the road and as he passed me about a 1/4 mile later I heard that 727 shift from 2nd to 3rd as he passed. They had fast cars then.

Edited by padgett (see edit history)
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My Grandfather got a speeding ticket in 1909 in Winnipeg. It was for exceeding the speed of one mile in four minutes (15mph) and he was caught by a police officer on a CCM bicycle.  I guess he must have had some type of "calibrated" speedo on the bike.  Or maybe he was just a good judge of speed?  O maybe???

At any rate the ticket is a cute part of history to go with his 60 chauffer's hat badges and his original driver's license that folds out like a1800's birth certificate.  By the way he drove truck from 1909 until 1963 when he retired and then drove until 1969 and never had another ticket.

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Back in the early 1900s, you were most likely to get arrested for "Driving Furiously" than actually "speeding."   There was no really effective way to measure speed other than with the old stop watch technique.  In my collection of automobilia I have one of the early Jones tags warning police not go "arrest of guesswork."  It's a neat item that has been reproduced several times over the years as a novelty item.

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