Are you interested in learning some fun facts about driving as well? In that case, we'll cover information about the history of the automobile, interesting trivia, speedy statistics, and of course, Alabama's wacky driving laws.

History of Automobiles

• Cars have not always been powered by the internal combustion engines that they employ today. There have been steam-powered engines, and even electric-powered engines. However, due to pricing and fueling issue, it was the internal combustion engine that remains in primary use today.
• A Frenchman by the name of Cugnot was the first to make a steam-powered automobile. Shortly thereafter, he participated in another first: his crash into a brick wall is the first automobile accident.
• America's first gas-powered car was the 1891 Lambert car invented by John W. Lambert.
• Henry Ford did not have the first car company in the United States; this honor goes to the Duryea Brothers, who founded the first American company to manufacture and sell automobiles.
• However, Ford improved the assembly line for the manufacture of the Model-T, invented a transmission mechanism, and popularized the internal-combustion gas engine, which is what is found in the majority of vehicles today

Car Trivia

• Mary Anderson invented windshield wipers for cars, patenting them in 1905.
• Gottlieb Daimler built the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle in 1886.
• Charles Kettering invented the first electrical ignition system.
• Ford did not make the first mass produced automobile in America. That distinction goes to Oldsmobile, with their Curved Dash Oldsmobile.

Speedy Statistics

• Over 100,000 people get speeding tickets everyday in the United States.
• In 1974, oil shortages prompted a national speed limit of 55 mph along freeways and interstates.

Wacky Driving Laws - Alabama

• It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
• It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street as long as a lantern is attached to the front of your car.
• Driving barefoot is illegal.
• You must have windshield wipers on your vehicle (but you don't need a windshield).