© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Early Speed Limit

Jacki talks to Howard Mansfield about the history of traffic laws. Mansfield recently wrote an article on the subject in the Old Farmer's Almanac. He says most of the traffic rules that are in place today can be traced back to one man...William Eno...a wealthy New Yorker who was obsessed with devising ways to bring order to streets and highways in the U.S. and abroad in the early 1900s. He devised rules of the road ranging from speed limits, one way streets, and driving on the right to pavement markings, licensing drivers and traffic tickets.

Copyright 1995 NPR

Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.