Motor? What does Wikipedia have to say about this? A redirect to “engine,” the word was originally used to distinguish internal combustion engines from steam engines. This discussion is heavily biased on vehicle motors.
20180627/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine
Steamroller? Indeed, early forms were indeed steam-powered. The main reason these became wildly popular was because they were more economic than the horse-drawn alternatives.
20180627/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamroller
The precursor of the tractor, the steam-powered traction engine. Too heavy to drive across ground as regularly as a modern tractor, so compromises had to be made. Most often used to power farm equipment that would otherwise be manual.
20180627/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_engine
Operating a steam tractor engine is a long ways away from the Dukes of hazard speeding around in their 1950s… no 1960s Dodge car? Ah, a customized 1969 Dodge Charger stock car.
20180627/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dukes_of_Hazzard
So yeah, the point is that the earlier motor vehicles were too cumbersome and too slow for speeding to be a thing. Only after the motor vehicle has been made so easy and so convenient to operate does speeding become a problem.
So, point in hand? This is an example of the unintended consequences of technological advancements. And the technological fix proposed? Make cars self-driving. Beyond this, self-driving cars could made to be able to drive really fast and be safe in conditions where humans could not be… like speeding through an intersection. Alas, that’s but more room for unintended consequences to creep in.