Page 8 - the story of motoring

The f irst-motorists

In 1896 the Red ilag Act and its spesd
limits was ended. The new speed limit
was 12mph (changed to 20mph in 19031. To .
celebrate the new freedom, motoristsmet
in London to drive to Brighton. It was
a wet and foggy November day. It was an
eventful day. Some drivers cheated by
sending their cars to Brighton by train, . -
a young girl was run over at Crawleyand
many cars broke down. Still, many people
watched the cars on route, For a lot of
people this was the first time they had
seen a horseless carriage.

The first cars were very simple in design,
The wheels on larger cars were made of
wood and on smalIer makes looked like bi-
cycle wheels. Steering at first was a
simple tiller that was moved to the right
or left. The brakes would either be the
block type [like on a stage coach1 or a
clamp on the drive shaft. There were a
lot of levers to fiddle with too, likethe
throttle, ignition, lubricator and gears.
Lamps were either candle, oil or acetylene
gas [electric lights did not become common
until the 1920~1.

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Entrants in the tlrst 1
I 1 to Brlghton run -
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