I was wondering when were people first required to get drivers lisence, and who was the first person to get one?

It may have been Massachusetts or Missouri. (Missouri was one of the first states to have a commercial auto industry.) I'll search tomorrow. I think Chicago passed a law requiring one in the late 1890s, but it was ruled unconstitutional.

In the UK, the first licence was issued in 1903
here

According to this site 1903 would also be the year in the USA. No names to report as to whom were the first DL given too.

the drivers test then was probably so much easier.... doesn't it make you want to go back in time.......

Mozart, your link is interesting. While Missouri and Massachusetts passed licensing laws in 1903, they did not have licensing examinations until years later. The link mentions Rhode Island as having the first examination for competency, in 1908. That is confirmed elsewhere, giving the source as the National Conference of State Legislatures.

This site reports that "The first driver's license was issued in Denver, Colorado, for a cost of $1.00."

Ain't the internet grand? Too many sources, and they don't always agree!

fuse, If I'm correct this is the part in which DG comes in and informs us why certian sources are reliable and others aren't...

quote:

Originally posted by Leppi:
the drivers test then was probably so much easier.... doesn't it make you want to go back in time.......

The First Driving Test (formal) in the UK was in 1935 though informally it was taken by a British Subject in France in 1900...A Lady!

quote:

Miss Vera Hedges Butler was the first British woman to pass a driving test: as it was 1900, and drivers were not yet being tested in Britain, the intrepid Miss Hedges Butler decided to go all the way to Paris to take the French test.

NO record kept on a Male driver passing
and..

quote:

The first car and driver licences were introduced in Britain in 1903, but testing was unknown here for almost another 30 years.

NOTE Many of the Older drivers had exchange licences issued for Full licences when the changeover came (No test needed)
www.dsa.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=346

OH and on the same link it says 1896 -France earliest licence issued

quote:

Originally posted by bedstor:

NOTE Many of the Older drivers had exchange licences issued for Full licences when the changeover came (No test needed)
www.dsa.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=346

My late father never passed a test. The result was that he was deemed qualified to drive any vehicle from the heaviest 'rig' to a moped. A check revealed that that meant that he was deemed capable of 'making a right turn without dewiring': part of the test for driving a trolley bus (remember them?)

His sister was proof of the innocence of the age. She took a ten minute demonstration from the mechanic at the garage where she bought the car and promptly drove her family 60 miles to Brighton. Only when she got there did she realise that she'd not been taught about reverse gear. So she had to drive around forwards for the whole day !

Mozart's source seems to be a well-researched one, and, while I will look for a corroborating source, I think it is safe to say that Missouri and Massachusetts were the first states to require drivers to be licensed. But that wasn't what was asked. (I do think that is what was meant, however. But only Leppi knows that.)

"...when were people first required to get drivers lisence..." - Leppi

From Mozart's link -

For example, in 1898 the city of Chicago had in force a law which required that the owners of "wagons, carriages, coaches, buggies, bicycles, and all other wheeled vehicles propelled by horse power or by the rider" pay an annual license fee. [3] (The law was ultimately declared unconstitutional.) A year later, Chicago passed another ordinance which "required the examination and licensing of all automobile operators" in the city. [4] At the same time, New York City had an ordinance which required that drivers of steam powered cars be licensed engineers.


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I note that another web site, a huge one, that answers questions states

On August 1, 1910, North America's first driver licensing law went into effect in the U.S. state of New York, though it initially applied only to professional chauffeurs.

Trust only AnswerPool for all your Trivia needs.

quote:

His sister was proof of the innocence of the age. She took a ten minute demonstration from the mechanic at the garage where she bought the car and promptly drove her family 60 miles to Brighton.

Fred.

I remember that well but with motorcycles when there was no training courses .You could buy a Motor cycle Up to 250cc(unlimited capapacity up to the mid 60's) Triumph 500 was the Big seller and no questions asked about Riding experience...I started on a Honda 50 step thru...ended up on 550cc Kawasakis took 10 years to get there (and I took a 2 part driving test)
You could Drive it away on a Provisional Licence(and 3rd Party Insurance) with just basic instruction on how to start it and stop it!

Read somewhere that if you were still accident free after 1 year you were a "safe" rider HMMM?

But these were the days when Helmets were Non compulsory,and 1 small thing in the motorists favour the roads were quieter .. Road Traffic in the UK Picked up very sharply from the mid 60's onwards