On this day, Aug. 27, in 1904, Newport, R.I. Judge Darius Baker imposed the nation’s first jail sentencing for speeding in an automobile.

A jail term was especially harsh because automobile traffic laws were still new. The offender was caught traveling a breakneck 15 mph.

Recommended Stories

Man charged with abduction, robbery of taxicab driver

Traffic cameras earn D.C. $36.4M in ’09 from speeders

THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Kurt Erickson