How Important Is It to Have a Driver’s License?

Long a symbol of new-found freedom and a quintessential rite of passage, many teens dream of obtaining their drivers’ license as soon as they are eligible. Does that describe you? Do you have–or want–your license? Do your friends? If you live in a big city or other place where few people have cars, are there other independence-related rites of passage that compare to getting one’s driver’s license? Has their relevance changed over time?

In the Opinion piece “The Go-Nowhere Generation” Todd G. Buchholz and Victoria Buchholz write about the tendency of young people today to stay close to home upon entering the workforce and be less interested in driving:

In the most startling behavioral change among young people since James Dean and Marlon Brando started mumbling, an increasing number of teenagers are not even bothering to get their driver’s licenses. Back in the early 1980s, 80 percent of 18-year-olds proudly strutted out of the D.M.V. with newly minted licenses, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. By 2008 — even before the Great Recession — that number had dropped to 65 percent. Though it’s easy to blame the high cost of cars or gasoline, Comerica Bank’s Automobile Affordability Index shows that it takes fewer weeks of work income to buy a car today than in the early 1980s, and inflation-adjusted gasoline prices didn’t get out of line until a few years ago.

Perhaps young people are too happy at home checking Facebook. In a study of 15 countries, Michael Sivak, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (who also contributed to the D.M.V. research), found that when young people spent more time on the Internet, they delayed getting their driver’s licenses. “More time on Facebook probably means less time on the road,” he said. That may mean safer roads, but it also means a bumpier, less vibrant economy.

REASON

1.It identifies you as a licensed driver

The first and most important purpose of your driver’s license is to notify law enforcement personnel that you have obtained your driver’s license in the state in which you reside and are legally allowed to operate a motor vehicle. If you are pulled over by a police officer or state trooper, the first thing that he or she will ask for is your driver’s license. Without it, you have no right to operate a vehicle on public roadways.

2.It serves as your official personal I.D.

You may be required to prove that you are who you say you are for a variety of reasons: writing a check, opening an account, using a debt or credit card, enrolling in school, applying for government benefits, applying for loans, etc. A current driver’s license is a universally accepted form of personal identification because it displays your contact information and a picture that officials can compare to the person who is presenting it as identification.

3.It allows emergency officials to identify you if you are involved in an accident

If you have a wreck, are badly injured, and cannot communicate with first responders, they will search your wallet for your driver’s license to identify who you are. A name and address will help them locate and contact family members to inform of your injuries. Hospital staff can use the information on your driver’s license to begin the admission process.

4.Are you an organ donor?

Your driver’s license contains the official answer to this question. If you pass away unexpectedly, doctors will know if your organs can be harvested for transplants by looking for the universal organ donor symbol displayed on your driver’s license.

5.Lost and Found

If you lose your purse or wallet, a Good Samaritan can determine the owner’s name and address by looking at the driver’s license that almost everyone stores in their wallet.

6.Other Drivers

Driver’s licenses aren’t just for drivers of cars. This card will also serve as your vessel license, motorcycle license, and CDL license.

7.If you are kidnapped, news agencies will gather demographics from your driver’s license information

Make sure you update your identifying information each time you renew your license. You don’t want people to be looking out for a five feet seven inches tall female weighing one hundred and forty pounds with blond hair when, in reality, you weigh one hundred and seventy pounds, have brown hair and are only five feet seven inches tall when you wear three inch heels!

8.Want to buy tobacco or alcohol?

Better have your license ready! Cashiers and clerks are trained to accept only official and current driver’s licenses as proof of age and identification when patrons purchase these age restricted substances. Some states issue licenses aligned vertically for individuals under twenty-one years of age and horizontally for those over twenty-one.

9.Ready to hit the club?

If you look a day younger than forty, you will need to have your driver’s license ready. Forget the fake I.D. Bouncers have seen it all. Only an official license proving that you are older than the minimum age will get you in the door.

10.Travel I.D.

If you are traveling within the United States, most airlines require you to display your driver’s license with your boarding pass before you board a plane.

source 

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/how-important-is-it-to-have-a-drivers-license/

http://driving-tests.org/beginner-drivers/your-driver%E2%80%99s-license-most-important-thing-your-wallet/

  

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/how-important-is-it-to-have-a-drivers-license/

http://driving-tests.org/beginner-drivers/your-driver%E2%80%99s-license-most-important-thing-your-wallet/