dave@teldata.UUCP (05/18/84)
I noticed that more and more people are talking about driving being a privilege from the state. I would like to know when it became a privilege to move from point to point (don't you have to have papers to move around in Poland?) and who is the master as lined out in the Constitution of the United States of America? Licenses are for people who are operating in a regulated industry. Therefore if I have insurance for my car, insurance being a regulated industry, am I not then required to have a license since I am now operating within the regulated industry. If that is the case then if I do not have insurance then I don't need the license. To be free a person has to be responsible for his/her actions not some insurance company. Dave.
guy@rlgvax.UUCP (Guy Harris) (05/19/84)
> I noticed that more and more people are talking about driving being a > privilege from the state. I would like to know when it became a privilege > to move from point to point (don't you have to have papers to move around > in Poland?) and who is the master as lined out in the Constitution of the > United States of America? It's not a privilege to move from point to point in the US. I would like to know when it became a requirement to drive in order to get from point to point? The roads are built and maintained by state governments; as such, they can require licenses to use the facilities they provide. If the roads were privately-built and maintained, using those roads still be a privilege granted by the builders and maintainers. > Licenses are for people who are operating in a regulated industry. Huh? A "license", according to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, is ...a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful... The first two items (permission granted to engage in a business or occupation) do indicate a regulated industry, but the third is somewhat of a catch-all. That's the way I'd use "license" in the sense of "UNIX license" (use of the UNIX(TM) brand Operating System :-) is unlawful - or, at least, prosecutable as a civil offense - unless one has a technology license from AT&T) or "patent license" (use of a patented technology is unlawful etc. unless one has a license from the patentee), and that's the way I'd use "license" in the sense of "driving license". > Therefore if I have insurance for my car, insurance being a regulated > industry, am I not then required to have a license since I am now operating > within the regulated industry. If that is the case then if I do not have > insurance then I don't need the license. No, *you* are not operating within the regulated industry. You are a *customer* of a company operating within the regulated industry. Do you need a license to have a telephone connection to the local central office, just because the telephone industry (well, the local service part, anyway) is regulated? Guy Harris {seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy
rcd@opus.UUCP (05/22/84)
>I noticed that more and more people are talking about driving being a >privilege from the state. I would like to know when it became a privilege >to move from point to point (don't you have to have papers to move around >in Poland?) It hasn't (yet!) become a privilege to move from point to point. Move about as you will, but if you're going to use an automobile to do it, society has determined that there is sufficient potential for harm to others that it will regulate your use of that automobile on public roadways. Driving your own car is hardly the only way to move about. -- ...A friend of the devil is a friend of mine. Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303) 444-5710 x3086
ntt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) (05/22/84)
teldata!dave says: I noticed that more and more people are talking about driving being a privilege from the state. I would like to know when it became a privilege to move from point to point.... It isn't. The privilege is that you are operating hazardous equipment on public property. Of course you have a right to move from point to point -- on foot, for instance, or if you are in a hurry, as a passenger in a professionally driven common carrier vehicle (plane, train, taxi). And if your own property is large enough, you are (or should be) free to use whatever means you like to move from point to point within it. But if you want to drive a vehicle yourself on a public road, then you had better prove yourself able to do so safely, by acquiring a license. First. And yes, that makes driving a privilege. (I hope you're not going to dispute that a car is hazardous equipment. Know what the death rate from car accidents is?) Mark Brader
seifert@ihuxl.UUCP (D.A. Seifert) (05/23/84)
> Driving your own car is hardly the only way to move about. True, except that I can't find my roller skate key. -- _____ /_____\ That auto-crossing beagle, /_______\ Snoopy |___| BMWCCA, Windy City Chapter ____|___|_____ ihnp4!ihuxl!seifert