Page:America's Highways 1776–1976.djvu/66

 gongs, the making of unnecessary exhaust noise and the emission of noxious gas, smoke or steam, and they could impose fines for violations. These regulations varied widely from city to city and, especially in the smaller municipalities, were often enforced in a discriminatory way. The operation of “speed traps” by local peace officers was a widespread abuse in rural communities, with the fines going into the local treasury or the pocket of the police justice or magistrate.

One of the challenges of the early AAA tours.

The widespread variations in traffic regulations, and especially in registration requirements, laid a severe burden on motorists and also on automobile manufacturers who regarded them as obstacles to vehicle ownership and the expansion of the market for automobiles. Combating restrictive legislation was a principal reason for the organization of both the American Automobile Association in 1902 and the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce in 1913. These and other organizations backed a bill in the 60th Congress that would have required Federal registration for all vehicles. They also worked diligently to standardize the motor vehicle laws in all the States. Eventually, both goals were achieved without Federal intervention, as shall be seen.

Up to 1903 no automobile had crossed the United States under its own power, and most people who knew anything about American roads, especially those of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains States, thought such a trip impossible. Dr. H. Nelson Jackson, of Burlington, Vermont, thought otherwise, and he burned with the urge to be the first person to travel from coast to coast by motor. On May 23, 1903, he left San Francisco, in secrecy, with his chauffeur Sewell K. Crocker, in a 20-horsepower Winton touring car. Sixty-three days later, the two pathfinders rolled into New York after averaging 90 miles per day in 44 days actual running time, despite terrible weather.

A year after Doctor Jackson’s feat, a group of motor enthusiasts conceived the idea of a mass motor tour or 60