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2Commander-in-Chief and Head Traffic Magistrate
As the following pages will reveal, presidents, world leaders, and other historical figures can be
downright quirky, and this description certainly applies to President Woodrow Wilson. Thanks to Henry Ford’s invention
of the assembly line, by the time of Wilson’s swearing in, as president in 1913there were already millions of automobiles on the road. Wilson was so hooked on his car that he often spent several hours a day motoring around Washington in order to
‘clear his head.’
Woodrow Wilson was a car guy, which of course on its own does not make one quirky. However, unlike other car guys who thrive on the adrenalin rush of a fast cars and the thrill of speed Wilson liked to take things slow. A 1916 issue of Northwest
Motorist described Wilson’s driving habits noting that he “lacks the speed mania and prefers an appreciative passage through pleasant country scenes to the thrill that comes from speeding.” To enhance his driving experience Wilson was an early proponent of a national highway system and advocated federal funding for quality road construction.
In addition to bad roads, early automobile travelers faced the challenge of the lack of traffic laws and enforcement. When
President Wilson’s obsession with speed demons began after he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919. While out on his daily drives he ordered his chauffeur to never, exceed a speed of 15 to 20 miles an hour. Anything faster Wilson reasoned was just plain reckless. While the presidential motorcade was crawling along at a snail’s pace, from thebackseat Wilson freaked out every time another motorist passed his car. This prompted him to order the Secret Service, traveling in the car behind him to chase down the offending speeder or as he described them, the public menace. Imagine if you will, a honking motorist passing the presidential
motorcade and flipping the president off as they drove by.
The Secret Service detail was to bring the speeder back so they could receive the presidential tongue lashing that they so deserved. Oddly, the Secret Service was never able to catch up with the speed demons that passed the presidential motorcade.
Wilson’s obsession with speeders continued and this led him to petition the Attorney General concerning his presidential authority to arrest speeders and serve up justice curbside. After much conversation, the Secret Service successfully convinced Wilson that it was not a good idea for the president of the United States to get involved in enforcing traffic statutes. Not only was it dangerous, but they argued it could possibly be humiliating to his office. Having been freed from this important public safety obligation, Wilson was able to then concentrate on the presidential business at hand, which included the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, and his push for the League of Nations.
