2007-08-24 13:50:38 · 11 answers · asked by clevelandrocksgirl 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
A drivers license or state issued ID card has been a personal identification requirement for a very long time. Driver's have been required to carry a license since the 1920's.
2007-08-24 13:58:22 · answer #1 · answered by John S 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Massachusetts and Missouri became the first states to issue drivers' licenses, in 1903, but it was in the early 1950s that they first required you pass a test.
South Dakota was the last to require that drivers have a license, in 1954, and they didn't require an examination until 1959.
In the 1920s and 1930s, enforcement was pretty loose, and more than one state allowed one to get a driver's license by mail.
With the passage of the PATRIOT act, the use of government-issue photo ID became mandatory for certain situations, such as boarding a regularly-scheduled airline flight. It doesn't have to be a driver's license; you can get a "non-driver's license" that doesn't confer driving privileges.
This requirement has caused a number of problems for the Amish, who in Pennsylvania receive identification that says "Amish" where non-Amish have pictures. They have an objection to photographs of themselves, as it violates the commandment against graven images.
In one case, a Canadian married to an American went to Canada to attend his father's funeral, and the law changed while he was gone. Although he was a legal permanent resident of the US, he was not allowed back into the country because he didn't have, and refused to get, government-issued photo ID.
I haven't noticed any Amish terrorists. Victims? Sure. Kids are all the time throwing objects at Amish while they are driving buggies, and then of course, there was the massacre at Nickel Mines.
I suppose keeping a father away from his family is part of what some politicians call family values....
2007-08-24 14:09:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
A drivers license is not mandatory.
Having a valid government issued ID is however at the age of 18.
2007-08-24 14:10:01 · answer #3 · answered by Bill 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
About 20 years after they were sold to the public. Complaints by people concerning accidents caused the introduction into law of the necessity to license people who wished to own and operate the vehicles. This was around the time funds for paving roads for the vehicles were being gathered, and the licensing fees helped towards that.
2007-08-24 14:00:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A driver's license has never been mandatory - if you mean that everyone asks for it as a form of ID, you can get a state ID that looks basically the same and will serve the same purpose. It doesn't give you the right to drive, but it's legal ID.
2007-08-24 14:00:41 · answer #5 · answered by woodlands127 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I believe it was in the 1940s. I remember my grandmother talking about driving when she was young but when they began requiring licenses she never bothered to get one. (She was married and they only had one car) She never drove again in her lifetime.
I would guess different states adopted the rules at different times.
2007-08-24 13:59:22 · answer #6 · answered by Truth is elusive 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
around 1909, automotive enthusiast groups petitioned the us government for driver regulation to deal with hazardous drivers.
i dont know when regulation actually went through, however, but i believe somewhere around that point.
2007-08-24 14:01:20 · answer #7 · answered by dracos24 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It ISN'T. Those who don't drive, or want to drive can get a state ID card which is recognized as valid ID for practically everything.
2007-08-25 00:48:10 · answer #8 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
When people started driving Vehicles on us roads
2007-08-24 14:03:28 · answer #9 · answered by Ankit 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is required to drive a vehicle on public roads, always has been.
2007-08-24 13:55:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋