A Moment in Automotive History
When did motor vehicle accidents and traffic safety become part of our culture? Who crashed the first car? Who became the first fatality? Who first thought of stop signs?
I don't think anyone can give a definitive answer to all these questions. The first recorded crash has been credited to Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot who drove his steam-powered "Fardier" against a wall in 1770. He survived the collision, but the crash put an end to his experiments with self propelled vehicles.
The earliest recorded motor vehicle fatality was Mary Ward who died on August 31, 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland after being thrown from an experimental steam car built by her cousins.
Many of the earliest innovations in road safety are credited to a man who never drove a car himself, William Phelps Enos. He is sometimes known as the "father of traffic safety". Enos is credited with conceiving the stop sign, the traffic circle, and the one way street.
I don't think anyone can give a definitive answer to all these questions. The first recorded crash has been credited to Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot who drove his steam-powered "Fardier" against a wall in 1770. He survived the collision, but the crash put an end to his experiments with self propelled vehicles.
The earliest recorded motor vehicle fatality was Mary Ward who died on August 31, 1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland after being thrown from an experimental steam car built by her cousins.
Many of the earliest innovations in road safety are credited to a man who never drove a car himself, William Phelps Enos. He is sometimes known as the "father of traffic safety". Enos is credited with conceiving the stop sign, the traffic circle, and the one way street.
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