Big data—are the regulators coming?

The Locomotive Acts of the1860s and 1870s introduced many sensible measures familiar to all motorists, such as vehicle registration and number plates. However, they are best remembered for their speed limits—2mph in cities—and the requirement that a man carrying a red flag should walk in front of vehicles hauling wagons. It would be three decades before the fledgling British auto industry successfully lobbied for the draconian limits of these ‘Red Flag Acts’ to be lifted, unleashing the modern age of road transport.