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On This Day in Automotive History: October 30

On This Day in Automotive History
October 30

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Birthdays: Nino Farina (1906), Maurice Trintignant (1917), Harvey Eakin (1926), Jacques Swaters (1926), Andy Romano (1937), Jim Faneco (1946), Angelo Zadra (1949), Tony Bettenhausen (1951), Dennis Binstock (1951), Ian Donaldson (1951), Dan Mason (1954), Doug Hoffman (1958), Kenny Burks (1959), Stuart Murphy (1959), Steven Andskar (1964), Thomas Erdos (1965), Brad Pollard (1965), Joe Bush (1966), Robert Gewirtz (1966), Allen May (1969), Matt Kelley (1975), Niki Cadei (1977), Dave Minegar (1979), Patrick Dupree (1980), Jeremy Campbell (1983), Darrell Gilchrist (1983), Zach Germain (1984), Bobby Knox (1994), Daniel Speeney (1995), Madeline Crane (1997)

1917: A pathfinding tour to find the best route from Washington, DC, to Atlanta, Georgia, for the proposed transcontinental Bankhead Highway (Washington, DC, to Los Angeles, California) leaves the Capitol after ceremonies in the Rotunda. OPRRE's M. O. Eldridge joins John Oliver La Gorce of National Geographic Magazine and A. G. Batchelder of AAA as official "Pathfinders." The highway is named after Senator John Bankhead, a leader in the fight for the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916. On April 20, 1919, Eldridge and Batchelder again joined a Bankhead Highway pathfinding tour, leaving Mineral Wells, TX, to identify a route to the Pacific Coast. The tour reached Los Angeles, CA, on May 2, but Eldridge had left the group, apparently at San Diego. One account reported that the "journey through Arizona was through a continuous battle of competitive entertainers . . . . All sought to convince [the pathfinders'] minds by bewildering their stomachs." Batchelder skipped the trip to Los Angeles as well. The account suggested that, "Perhaps he feared he would have to undergo another banquet."

1917: The American Highway Association is dissolved by a vote of their Board of Directors.

1974: At the Pier 7 Restaurant in Washington, DC, the FHWA Wives Association holds its first luncheon, featuring Administrator Norbert Tiemann as guest speaker. Susan Evers chairs the Membership Committee and Mary Lamm is President. All wives of current and retired employees of FHWA (and BPR) are eligible for membership.

1984: The Motor Carrier Safety Act is signed by President Ronald Reagan. The Act directs USDOT to reissue the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, preempt State safety requirements affecting interstate commerce that are not compatible with Federal regulations, and establish procedures for determining the safety fitness of carriers.

2006: Dura Automotive Systems files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

2009: The final Buell motorcycle was produced under Harley-Davidson ownership.