In September 1906, the Baden government adopted a regulation which stipulated the testing of automobiles and their drivers: “If amotorised vehicle is operated, the owner shall provide the district office ofhis city of residence with a written notice. […] The notice shall bear thecertificate of an officially recognised expert.” The “BadischeDampfkessel-Revisions-Verein” (Baden boiler inspection association) is taskedwith performing these inspections.
To properly accomplish this task, the associationworked with the company whose name is inextricably linked to the success storyof the automobile – Benz & Co. – where 12 boiler engineers are trained toserve as automobile experts.
The name “Benz” was already a familiar one to carenthusiasts at the time: In 1886, Carl Benz had developed the first motorisedautomobile in history with his Patent-Motorwagen. In August 1888, Bertha Benzdrove the 106 kilometres between Mannheim and Pforzheim using a vehicledeveloped by her husband, completing the first long-distance, overland journeyin an automobile. Now, in 1906, technical inspections of motorised vehicles areconducted in Mannheim, the birthplace of automobile transportation.