The other day, I was reading an Archie comic from 1942 that got me wondering about something. The comic starts out with Archie in his new jalopy telling Betty that he just learned to drive yesterday. Just learned to drive yesterday and is now driving his own car? No time with a learner's permit? Could you indeed get a driver's license that fast or did you even have to have one in the early 1940's?
I had never really thought about it before, so I did some poking around and here a few of the things I found out. The first licenses were issued by Massachusetts and Missouri in 1903, but they were more like an ID card and no exam was required to get them. In 1908, Rhode Island was the first state that made you show your driving skills before they would issue you a license, and in 1913, New Jersey made you pass both a written and driving test before you could get a license just like today. Washington state was a bit more casual in the early 1920's when they only made you sign a paper that said you were a safe driver. No exams required. By 1935, 39 states issued driver's licenses but most of those did not require you to drive to get them. The last state to join the others and require a driving exam was North Dakota in 1959. I guess what all of this early history means is that it may have been entirely possible for Archie to have only learned to drive yesterday and be driving a car he owned the next day. And if you know Archie, he may have needed a little more experience before he set off on his own. But then I guess, there would be no story. :)
When I learned how to drive, I had to pass a written exam to get a learner's permit and a driver's test that required the dreaded parallel parking to get a official license. When I went to take my driving test, I was very nervous about the parking, but hoped for the best. My tester for the day got in the car with me and told me to drive down the road. (In our area, we had no official driving course, you just did what the policeman said.) It was a curvy two lane road which was typical for the area. After a little of this, he asked me to pull off into a gravel parking lot at a church and turn around. That was it. No three-point turns, no parallel parking, just an easy turn and back down the road to the police station. It was as simple as that and I had my license. I don't know whether the policeman was tired or I looked like I knew what I was doing, but I realize that I got lucky that day.
By the time my sons were getting their driver's licenses, things were a lot different. After getting the learner's permit, they had to log a lot of hours of different kinds of driving. Testing took place at a course designed to test various driving skills including the dreaded parallel parking. What I thought was really smart was the parking was the first thing on the course. If you couldn't do that, you immediately failed and didn't take up any extra time on the rest of the test. I thought that was a good efficiency measure on the part of the testing center.
So what did you have to do to get a driver's license?
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What to know some more details about licensing?
http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_8_2.html
http://www.ehow.com/about_5552087_history-drivers-license.html
Ha! I think Washington state is going back to their roots -- with renewals, at least. On my last renewal (by mail), I just had to state that my eyesight was still good. No test, no new photo, nothing, but whether or not I could still see well enough!
ReplyDeleteHere we only have to renew our license every 5 years, but we do have to go in and have an eye test and a new picture. Washington either has a lot of confidence in their population to do the right thing or not much money to hire staff to test things more carefully. I think you all must be very trustworthy. :)
DeleteI was required to take a driver's ed course, which our local high school offered--one of the teachers took that on as a summer job. I remember taking a road test but not whether I had to parallel park, although I think I did. The guidelines for new teen drivers in our state are much more stringent than they were when I was that age, and that, I think, is a good change. But, as Lili notes, renewals are kind of a joke. I was due for a 10-year renewal this past year, which meant they did a quick test of my visual acuity and peripheral vision. No assessment of my knowledge of the rules of the road, no actual road test. I did get a new picture but I think that the State of Michigan was mostly concerned with receiving my payment. We also have yearly renewals which involve sending payment and signing a statement that we will abide by the rules of the road.
ReplyDeleteWe have had several elderly-driver accidents in our area over the past few years--my personal opinion is that we need more stringent guidelines involving assessments of vision and health to maintain licensure once a person hits 60. I know that my father was driving when he didn't have the physical or mental health to be doing so. In Michigan, you have little recourse except to have a concerned person (typically family) formally request an assessment from the State, which means A) someone has to be capable of identifying possible risky driving behavior and B) be willing to be the "bad guy" and request the assessment.
As you can tell, I have strong opinions on this topic! I have treated so many victims of bad accidents through the years--I don't want anyone to go through that kind of pain if it can be avoided.
We were lucky that when it was time for my father to stop driving, his doctor told him that he needed to stop. My father seemed to take it okay from him. My mother's injuries kept her from driving long enough that she not longer wants to (or can't).
DeleteNew drivers here have to take an approved driving course that includes both classroom and road experiences. However, it is not taught in school. You have to pay for it from a private company. Current cost is $330 and I don't know what people do that can't afford it. I hope there is some kind of scholarship available, but I have never heard about it.
I was in a bad wreck 2 days before my 16th birthday (passenger not driver) and was in traction in the hospital with broken bones and a head injury. I was furious with my parents for not taking me out of the hospital so I could take the test, after all I drove with my right foot and my left leg was the one broken. Plus I really didn't need my left arm to steer, right? 6 months later, 2 days after I was finally allowed to get rid of the crutches, I was in the car taking my driver's test. I think the instructor felt sorry for me after hearing my tale of woe, because I basically had to drive around the block making a series of left hand turns and only begin the back up for the parallel parking part, when he told me to go back to the building, then issued me a license. Amazingly after being in that wreck, I was a much more cautious driver than before when I just had a learner's permit.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that you survived the terrible wreck you were in but it sounds like it was a long difficult recovery. Did your early experiences influence the way you taught your kids to drive?
DeleteI don't know if it did or not. Since I had only boys and they tend to feel invincible my focus with them was "You are driving a 1 ton weapon, and are responsible for everything in its path" and "You don't need to get there first, you need to get there alive" That being said none of my kids had "hot" cars to drive, so that takes away some of the need or ability to drive insanely fast.
DeleteI know what you mean about the boy thing although mine were more cautious than some when it came to driving. However, they were still more aggressive than I was comfortable with at times.
DeleteThings sure have changed. My grandfather saved his first driver's license and it was a simple card that he signed, no photograph or other identifying information on it. By the time I took my test I had to have a learner's permit for a while before taking the driving portion of the exam which was on a designed course. My children got their licenses in anther state. There the driving portion was on the streets and my oldest being over 18 was able to take his written and driving portions all in one day.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like there is almost as much variability today in licensing practices as when they started issuing them.
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