The first drink-driving conviction may have happened in London
21 days ago
- On 10th September 1897, London taxi driver George Smith became the first person in Britain (and likely the world) convicted of drink-driving.
- Smith was driving an early electric Bersey cab, which crashed into a building after swerving; he admitted to drinking two or three glasses of beer.
- The conviction predated breathalysers, legal blood-alcohol limits, and driving licenses; existing carriage laws were used instead.
- The electric taxi, nicknamed 'Hummingbird,' had a top speed of 9 mph and required battery swaps at depots.
- Smith was fined 20 shillings (about a week's wages) and the magistrate warned about the dangers of motor cars compared to horse-drawn carriages.