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314 stories matching speed
- Tacoma Police Launch War on Speeders
After receiving numerous complaints, the police department is arming officers with stopwatches to catch drivers breaking city speed limits.
- The First Speeding Ticket in Kennewick
A local delivery driver learns the hard way that the city's new traffic ordinance has teeth.
- A High-Speed Crash Into a Saloon
After a harrowing collision on Puyallup Avenue, a local couple sues their driver for reckless speed.
- Kennewick's Ten-Mile-Per-Hour Traffic Crackdown
City council mandates strict enforcement of speed limits and lighting requirements for automobiles and motorcycles.
- Coulee City Targets 'Speed Demons' and Filthy Alleys
A newly empowered City Marshal is tasked with enforcing long-neglected sanitation ordinances and curbing reckless driving through the town's streets.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle's Early Cable Cars
A mother sacrifices her life to save her children after a runaway cable car loses its grip at Second and Pine, exposing the perils of the city’s rapid, unregulated infrastructure boom.
- The Race That Wasn't: A 'Compulsory' Chase on the Snoqualmie Road
In September 1876, a traveler near Fall City was forced into a high-speed gallop by five Indigenous men who claimed they only wanted to test their horses' speed against his.
- The Steamship Race of the Century on Puget Sound
A high-speed duel between two rival steamboats turns into a thirteen-mile grudge match across the Sound.
- The Steam Jet Visionaries
Two inventors believe they have cracked the code to high-speed maritime travel using hydraulic water jets.
- The Runaway Street Car on Battery Street
When the brakes failed on a steep Seattle incline, passengers faced a terrifying ride as their horse-drawn car hurtled down the tracks toward the waterfront.
- Streetcar Strikes Schoolgirl on Sixth Avenue
A pedestrian is injured after being hit by a speeding trolley, sparking local frustration over transit safety.
- North Yakima’s Finest Track
A newly completed race track in North Yakima promises to be the premier site for horse training in the Pacific Northwest, with local boosters already planning for a major September meet.
- A Runaway Team Charges Down Main Street
A dray team belonging to William DeSpain bolted, leading to a high-speed scene of terror on the main thoroughfare of Ritzville.
- The Wreck That Nearly Came Through Newport
A loose rail derailed an engine near Hillyard just as two soldier trains were passing through the region. Speed—or the lack of it—was all that prevented a disaster.
- The Unlucky Runner of Kennewick
A mysterious stranger who attempted a high-speed escape from local law enforcement is put to work on the city streets.
- The Dangerous Thrill of Everett's Early Auto-Cycle Races
Before high-speed motorcycles were common, the Everett Auto Cycle Club turned a local track into a proving ground for 'dare-devil' riders and humorous slow-races.
- The Launching of the City of Aberdeen
A new passenger steamer hits the waters of Grays Harbor, promising speed and luxury to locals.
- Runaway Gravel Train Near Hood Canal
A dozen laborers on a Port Gamble railroad work train are forced to jump for their lives as their cars lose control on a steep grade.
- Narrow Escape from Railway Disaster
Two passenger trains collide near Palmer after failing to stop on a curve; hundreds of lives saved by low speeds.
- The Speed Fiend and the Road Boss
As Benton County redraws its road districts, a local editor wants the men who maintain the roads given power to arrest the drivers tearing them up.
- The Unlucky Commute to Ballard
A streetcar motorman's decision to maintain speed leads to an aromatic disaster on the Ballard line.
- Tacoma Tries to Tame the Automobile
The city council moves to regulate the dangerous 'benzine buggies' with mandatory registration tags and strict speed limits, including a crawling 6 mph pace on downtown streets.
- A Maritime Collision in Port Townsend
A federal judge rules both a Norwegian bark and an American steamer are at fault for a late-night crash at the harbor entrance.
- One Man a Car and Twenty-Five Miles an Hour: Labor Demands the Streetcars Keep Their Bargain
The Western Central Labor Union charges Seattle's trolley companies with running unsafe, understaffed cars — and the council gives them twenty days to comply or forfeit their franchises.
- Racing Steamers and Rough Seas: The Edmonds Commuter's Grievance
In 1892, residents of Edmonds clashed with boat captains who, in their rush to win the Puget Sound speed wars, were leaving passengers stranded on the docks.
Also about this, in other words
- The Crackdown on 'Fast Riding' in Old Seattle
When rowdy horsemen turned Front Street into a racetrack, the city police decided the era of reckless riding in the city center had to end.