Laws imposing speed limits are standard in all countries, but the ways they are broken are sometimes distinctive. Guenther Eichmann was recently stopped by police in the high street in Geseke, Germany, for driving at 40mph, twice the speed limit. His case resulted in a £300 fine and the confiscation of his vehicle.

But if you looked at the prosecution papers expecting to see that the vehicle he was driving was a BMW or a Mercedes, you’d be surprised. Mr Eichmann, 54, a former engineer, was driving a supercharged electric wheelchair that he had modified himself.

In England and Wales, we issue more than 1.5 million speeding tickets each year. The offence has a long history. The first person in Britain to be fined for speeding was the pioneer of the petrol-engine car, Walter Arnold. On January 27, 1896, when there were only 20 cars in Britain, Mr Arnold was driving through Paddock Wood in Kent at 8mph — four times the 2mph limit imposed for built-up areas by the Locomotive Act 1865.

A policeman eating his lunch in a nearby cottage abandoned his meal, donned his helmet and chased the car for some distance on a bicycle. The long arm of the law was propelled by powerful legs: the officer eventually apprehended Mr Arnold, who was later fined one shilling.

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There have been cases of speeding in Britain that were odd in respect of both vehicle and venue. In May this year, people were having a relaxing game of golf at the Royal Dornoch Golf Course in Scotland when racing across the 15th fairway towards them came what was reported as “a madman on a horse”.

There was much alarm and distress. Even the horse was anxious. An accident was narrowly avoided, and Maurice Murphy, 27, was convicted of culpably and recklessly “riding a horse furiously”. He was put on probation for two years, so it’s 100/1 odds against that he’ll be racing at a golf course any time soon.

Professor Gary Slapper is Director of the Centre for Law at The Open University

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