I just renewed my drivers’s license. I remember not too many years ago, when your license was due to be renewed, you went to the DMV and stood in line (usually a long line) then gave them your old license, they took a new picture, checked your eyes and gave you a new license.
Today to renew a driver’s license, you must provide a birth certificate, passport, social security card, two or three proofs of residency, voter registration card, and who knows what else.
So how did we get to this state of affairs?
When cars came along around the start of the 20th century, anyone could drive them without restriction. Of course some of the early “cars” were just wagons that people attached a engine to for power — essentially replacing their horses. In 1899, Chicago and New York City required all drivers to pass an exam in order to operate their vehicles. New York City required any operator of a steam-powered car to be a licensed engineer. I guess technically, the first license to drive a motor vehicle was issued to Karl Benz (the acknowledged inventor of the modern automobile) in 1888. Because of the noise and smell of his creation, the citizens of Mannheim (Germany) complained. Benz requested and received written permission by the Grand Ducal authorities to operate his car on public roads.
The first real driver’s licenses were issued in 1903 by the states of Massachusetts and Missouri and required no examination of driving knowledge or skill and were basically just identification cards. As the number of cars increased, safety concerns began to prompt states to require driving examinations before issuing licenses. Rhode island became the first state to test individuals on their driving skills in 1908. The last state to require drivers to pass a driving test was South Dakota in 1959.
Driver’s licenses are used as the de facto form of identification in a large number (if not most) of countries, including the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, because these countries have no national identification cards.
The fact is we all need driver’s licenses and we put up with all the rules and regulations necessary to get/keep one. But deep down we don’t think that little card is necessary because we’re all above average drivers.
While waiting for my license, there was a youngster waiting to take his exam for his learner’s permit. I vaguely remember taking the test when I was about 15 or 16. I remember one question asked who had the right of way when four cars approach a four-way stop at the same time? If that question is on the West Virginia exam, the correct answer is probably the pick-up truck with the gun rack and the bumper sticker saying, “Guns don’t kill people. I do.”
— 30 —