When cars first rolled into Toronto in the early 1900s, chaos came with them. With no real traffic laws and zero driver training, new motorists simply bought a car and hoped for the best. In short, it didn’t go well.
Speed limits were laughably low—8 to 10 mph—but drivers blew past them. Pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, and streetcars still ruled the streets, creating daily mashups of old and new.
Streetcar tracks tripped up drivers. Curbs were frequent crash sites. And streetcar-vs-car collisions? Practically a sport.
We’ve rounded up some incredible vintage photos from the City of Toronto Archives that show the early, bumpy road to modern driving. Bent fenders, bad decisions, and all.
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3 Comments
Bring back Driver’s Ed and Driver’s training. What I see where I drive is a s–t ton of people who don’t even know the rules of the road or how easily an accident can happen. E-bikers —- looking at you, you silly jerks speeding along with no lights, dressed all in black at dusk and dawn, blowing through stoplights/stop signs and wearing no helmet(s).
Makes a person realize just how good we have it now.
There are lots of people now who push their limitations and their vehicle.