Is Driving a Right or a Privilege?

Did you know that driving is a privilege, not a right? I must admit that when I first read this in a recent Kansas Court of Appeals case, I was rather taken aback.

Should driving be considered a right? At first, my mind immediately leapt to the Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

In other words, just because the right is not specified in the Bill of Rights, does not mean that the right does not exist with the people. The Constitution was written not to limit the rights of the people, but rather to limit the powers of the government.

This is the knee-jerk reaction of a thought process that led to my initial response, “By what authority can the government take this right?” However, after a short time it dawned on me that they were not taking away a right, because driving is not a right to begin with.

So, why isn’t driving a right? If driving were a right, then everyone, including those unfit behind the wheel would be allowed to drive.

Unfortunately, perhaps because of age and slowed reaction times, bad vision, or mental challenges, not everyone is safe to drive. Thus, in order to have the privilege to drive, we have to pass certain tests. Only after we prove our abilities to be safe operating a motor vehicle are we actually given a license to do so.

The very fact that one has to be given a license solidifies that driving is not a right.

So, the next time you get behind the wheel and head out onto the road, remember that you don’t actually have a right to do so. I feel that if more people were aware of this simple little trivial fact were the case, they would generally drive in a more responsible manner.

In a country where freedom is often taken for granted, though often abused, taking the time to consider what are our rights and what are our privileges is a worthy task for us all.