gongs, the making of unnecessary exhaust noise and the emission of noxious gas, smoke or steam, and they could impose fines for violations. These regulations varied widely from city to city and, especially in the smaller municipalities, were often enforced in a discriminatory way. The operation of “speed traps” by local peace officers was a widespread abuse in rural communities, with the fines going into the local treasury or the pocket of the police justice or magistrate.[N 1]
One of the challenges of the early AAA tours.
The widespread variations in traffic regulations, and especially in registration requirements, laid a severe burden on motorists and also on automobile manufacturers who regarded them as obstacles to vehicle ownership and the expansion of the market for automobiles. Combating restrictive legislation was a principal reason for the organization of both the American Automobile Association in 1902[N 2] and the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce in 1913.[N 3] These and other organizations backed a bill in the 60th Congress that would have required Federal registration for all vehicles. They also worked diligently to standardize the motor vehicle laws in all the States. Eventually, both goals were achieved without Federal intervention, as shall be seen.
The Motor Pathfinders
Up to 1903 no automobile had crossed the United States under its own power, and most people who knew anything about American roads, especially those of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains States, thought such a trip impossible. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson, of Burlington, Vermont, thought otherwise, and he burned with the urge to be the first person to travel from coast to coast by motor. On May 23, 1903, he left San Francisco, in secrecy, with his chauffeur Sewell K. Crocker, in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car. Sixty-three days later, the two pathfinders rolled into New York after averaging 90 miles per day in 44 days actual running time, despite terrible weather.[2]
- ↑ The speed trap racket was so bad in New York prior to 1910 that the Legislature passed an act that year requiring all fines imposed for violations of the motor vehicle laws to be turned over to the State treasurer. This reduced the fines collected from motorists to a mere trickle.[1]
- ↑ A number of State and local automobile clubs banded together to form the American Automobile Association, which rapidly became the national voice of the automobile owners and a powerful lobby for good roads.
- ↑ Now the Motor Vehicles Manufacturers Association.
A year after Doctor Jackson’s feat, a group of motor enthusiasts conceived the idea of a mass motor tour or
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