# is driving a privilege or a right **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 29, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173 "2003-06-29T16:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/21 "2003-06-29T22:19:18Z")
It’s both; A privilege as a group, or a class, of those who meet the requirements for that class. A right as an individual, a member of that class. Driving cannot be denied to a member of that class. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weak\_Force](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@The\_Weak\_Force](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weak_Force)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/22 "2003-06-29T22:21:11Z")
I knew it was one of those. (:smack:) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/23 "2003-06-29T22:30:00Z")
Wait a minnit, a state cannot deny driving anyway. It _must_ allow driving for people in that state, both citizens and visitors. The ICC (I think) say’s so. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/24 "2003-06-29T22:46:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > \*\*Absolutely a privilege. > > If you can get the US Constituioin amended to say something like, “A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms **and drive** shall not be infringed.” > > If you want to discuss whether driving _ought_ to be a right versus a privilege I would still come down on the side of privilege. If it were a right it would become far more difficult to remove bad drivers from the road by revoking their license to drive and that would be a bda thing IMHO. \*\* You can take my driver’s license when you pry it… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/25 "2003-06-30T01:14:10Z")
At the risk of repeating myself, a state can regulate a right only if it has a compelling interest to do so, and the law must be narrowly drawn. OTOH, the state is free to pass laws concerning privileges which it deems reasonable and necessary. Would you call a fishing license a right? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/26 "2003-06-30T04:28:53Z")
Oh, really? This state doesn’t seem to have much trouble passing gun laws. When I hear the word “privilege”, I tend to thjink of; From m-w, > [@](#): > > : a right or immunity **granted** as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or **favor** (bolding is, of course, mine) Even without the word “special” it’s something given. Like a kiss. 😉 I also think of my paycheck, once I’ve earned it, as a right. I don’t want a fishing license. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_Mexico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@Roger\_Mexico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_Mexico)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/27 "2003-06-30T08:20:43Z")
Its more than a privilege, less than a right. It is a liberty, which cannot be taken away without due process (5th amendment). ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/28 "2003-06-30T09:31:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > \*\*Oh, really? This state doesn’t seem to have much trouble passing gun laws. > When I hear the word “privilege”, I tend to thjink of; > From m-w, > (bolding is, of course, mine) > Even without the word “special” it’s something given. Like a kiss. 😉 > I also think of my paycheck, once I’ve earned it, as a right. I don’t want a fishing license. \*\* > **[Definition of license | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/license)** > > Definition of license from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. [quote] li·cense ( P ) Pronunciation Key (lsns) n. Official or legal permission to do or own a specified thing. See Synonyms at permission. [/qote] Gun laws? Even if the 2d Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to bear arms, that Amendment applies only to the federal government. It has never been incorporated into the 14th Amendment as a fundamental right (“substantial due process”). Of course there is much argument what the 2d Amendment guarantees in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/29 "2003-06-30T14:17:56Z")
the pursuit of driving is a right. we are privileged to have that right. it’s both (unless you’re a teenager, then it’s just a privilege your parents are allowing you) ---
**Author:** ![patchbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@patchbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/patchbunny)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/30 "2003-06-30T15:25:30Z")
Years ago, a friend of mine advanced the argument that driving was a right, and because of that, you can’t be required to possess a driver’s license if you wish to drive. “H—s—,” I replied, being careful to correctly pronounce those tricky dashes, and spent the next few days roaming through the law library at City Hall. All the court cases I found iterated the same points: 1. Driving is a privilege, not a right, and 2. You do have a right to travel So although you have the right to head to Vegas for the weekend, you may have to walk to get there. 🙂 –Patch ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/31 "2003-06-30T18:43:32Z")
I believe that driving is a right, in the sense that government has no business interfering with you doing it. However, the act of driving on public roads is an activity in which the government has an authority to regulate. I do believe there is an inherent right to travel as one wishes, so it would be wrong for the government to use it’s authority to control public roads to try to negate that, but otherwise, the act of driving on public roads is the privilege, not the act of driving itself. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173/32 "2003-06-30T21:40:48Z")
I guess I think of a privilege as something that is given, and can be withdrawn, on a whim. Example; Going into a place of business. You can be evicted from a shopping mall at the whim of a security guard, no reason need be given. And a right is that which is owed you, if you fulfill specific requirements. Like owning a gun. Or driving. The clerk in the DMV cannot deny you a license if you fulfill the requirements. The state owes it to you for upholding your side of the agreement. Walking is indeed a right, also subject to certain restrictions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-driving-a-privilege-or-a-right/185173.md?page=1)