1901 Regulating chaos around the world
Compulsory car registration for all vehicles driving over 18mph took effect throughout France on this day, as more and more countries began regulating automobile traffic. Early city roads were often a din of crowded chaos, streets mired in mud and shared by horses, cars, and streetcars. However, phenomenal increases in traffic and accidents brought an end to the laissez-faire attitude of the road. Nine years after France began its registration policy, dividing lines appeared, followed by traffic signs, traffic lights, and one-way streets.