The first motor cars owed a lot the horse carriage. Indeed, many pioneering cars were simply horse carts with an engine – that is they were known as horseless carriages. They were notoriously unreliable. Sometimes a couple of horses were taken along as well in of a breakdown.
Early cars were hard to start and drive, and even harder to stop. Yet the roads were full of hazards: potholes, sharp bends, steep hills, and stray animals. Even the shortest outing in a car rarely passed an incident. Road signs were put up to warn drivers of coming dangers, but unwary animals and pedestrians were too often hit by speeding motor cars.
protect people, horns and other warning devices were made compulsory. Cars been restricted by speed limits right from the start. In Britain, there was the "Red Flag" Act, required that all cars have two drivers, while a third person walked in front waving a red flag. The world's first speeding ticket was issued in Great Britain in 1896. The driver was fined a shilling doing 8 mph in a 2-mph zone.
Night driving caused problems too. Lighting was poor that few motorists ventured out on the road after dark. The lights on the first cars were candle lamps inherited from horse-drawn carriages. They were very dim so they little more than warn other road users of the car's presence. Although special car lights were soon developed, they were considered luxury accessories for many years. It was until the 1930s that bright electric lights were fitted as standard on most cars.