Fascinating! I loved the old pictures - quite a travel back in time. I suppose the high death and injury rate, despite the 20mph speed limit, was due to:
  • lack of seat belts
  • brakes that took up to 40 feet to stop a car going 20mph
  • people standing in the way of oncoming traffic waiting for the streetcar
  • people hitching rides on running boards and bumpers
Some of the rules seem so obvious to us today, even as we still allow people to text message while they're driving.