The 19th Century Drunk Driver

<p>London cab driver George Smith became the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building on 10th September, 1897. He was fined 20 shillings (around £130 in today's money) - but was not banned from the road.</p><br><p>The vehicle he was driving only had a top speed of 12 mph, but, unfortunately for him, the building he crashed into was the home of celebrated actor Sir Henry Irving - which might be why he was the first person charged with a law that had technically been on the books since 1872.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the role of shame in declining drink-driving convictions; explain what the ‘Drunkometer’ was; and question whether Smith should be forgiven for his ‘Cheeky Thursday’... </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘First Drunk Driving Arrest’ (HISTORY, 2020): <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-drunk-driving-arrest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-drunk-driving-arrest</a></p><p>• Fifty Years Of Anti-Drink Driving Ads (Sky News, 2014): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW2dWqTkDBM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW2dWqTkDBM</a></p><p>• ‘14 of the most ridiculous and hilarious excuses heard in court for drink and drug driving’ (Somerset Live, 2019): <a href="https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/14-most-ridiculous-hilarious-excuses-3406709" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/14-most-ridiculous-hilarious-excuses-3406709</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.</em> </p><br><p><em>#1800s #Person #Crime #Technology #Politics #UK</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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