Eric Musgrove - Contributor
We live in a society and time in which 341 million Americans own close to 283 million vehicles. For as long as any living person can remember, there have been automobiles roaming the streets, with plenty of traffic laws in place to help keep people safe. We take it for granted that in the United States, we drive on the right side of the road, with appropriate passing and no-passing areas and longunderstood driving patterns. However, it was not always so. Combing through old records tells us a thing or two about how vehicles and traffic laws slowly made their way into general society. It is especially interesting in the early years when you had not only motorized vehicles but also horses and other natural means of transport on the same stretch of road. The shift in transportation modes led to many problems around the country, including Suwannee County.
In 1919, Live Oak City Marshal (equivalent to a police chief today) J. Kinkaid had to issue a statement to the citizens clarifying traffic ordinances recently put into place by the City of Live Oak:
“The traffic ordinance says vehicles of all kinds shall drive to the right, and park on the right side, same as automobiles. If you should drive on the wrong side and an accident should happen, due to wrong driving, then you are held wholly responsible under the law for damage to yourself, and the damage you do the other fellow, as well as for the violation of ordinance.
“Will ask everyone again to drive to the right Photo courtesy of Suwannee County Clerk of Court Howard Street in streets regardless of what you are driving.”
This was only five years after the first reference to a speeding ticket in Live Oak that I have been able to find thus far. In a June 1914 Suwannee Democrat, it was noted:
“The first case of speeding to come before Mayor Hinely came up Wednesday morning when William Boynto…chauffeur who ran H. W. Taylor’s car into the corner of Harvard’s Emphorum (sic) last Thursday, was fined $25 and costs.”
To aid in reducing traffic congestion, I found a July 1930 article discussing what may have been Suwannee County’s first traffic light, and how to handle it:
“Due to excessive traffic on the Old Spanish Trail (basically U.S. Highway 90 today, EM), city authorities have decided to erect a traffic light at the intersection of Ohio Ave. and Howard St.
“The light was suspended from the corner of the Commercial Bank and Home Pharmacy, Wednesday. It will save much time and trouble for the police authorities of Live Oak.
“Those who make a habit of rushing past the street intersection will do well to stop when the red light flashes on. Else they may find themselves in City Court charged with violating traffic rules. This will prove a blessing to the pedestrians who are protected by the signals as well as the motorists. If the red light flashes on your side, do not cross the street until the bell rings and green light turns on.”
Ah, to have observed Suwannee County street congestion in the early 1900s compared to what it is now (which is still nothing compared to large cities)… Different history next week!
Eric Musgrove can be reached at ericm@suwgov.org or (386) 362-0564.