There would need to be some sort of alternate mechanism for ensuring that people learn to drive a car safely before driving a car. Presumably that mechanism would involve some replacement job for the former DMV clerk.
Such a mechanism may be desirable, but it isn’t necessary for the existence of cities. There are plenty of third world countries that don’t bother with licensing, and still manage to have major metropolises.
But my point was just that when people talk about ‘trades and crafts on which the existence of the modern city depends’ they generally mean carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other hands-on trades, not clerks and bureaucrats.
Police, judges, and lawyers would be OK in this respect. (I’m not advocating elimination of the DMV, but now that I think about it, it sounds not-too-bad. Court orders to stop repeat offenders from driving sounds like, potentially, a better system than licensing?)
Police, judges, and lawyers would be OK in this respect.
Given their already heavy workload, they’d need to create a separate department just to deal with all the traffic violations. Hmm...
Besides, and perhaps more importantly, I’d rather instill a social expectation that driving requires a certificate, which in turn requires some training, than deal with “repeat offenders” after they’d run someone over because they couldn’t steer properly.
There would need to be some sort of alternate mechanism for ensuring that people learn to drive a car safely before driving a car. Presumably that mechanism would involve some replacement job for the former DMV clerk.
Such a mechanism may be desirable, but it isn’t necessary for the existence of cities. There are plenty of third world countries that don’t bother with licensing, and still manage to have major metropolises.
But my point was just that when people talk about ‘trades and crafts on which the existence of the modern city depends’ they generally mean carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other hands-on trades, not clerks and bureaucrats.
Police, judges, and lawyers would be OK in this respect. (I’m not advocating elimination of the DMV, but now that I think about it, it sounds not-too-bad. Court orders to stop repeat offenders from driving sounds like, potentially, a better system than licensing?)
Given their already heavy workload, they’d need to create a separate department just to deal with all the traffic violations. Hmm...
Besides, and perhaps more importantly, I’d rather instill a social expectation that driving requires a certificate, which in turn requires some training, than deal with “repeat offenders” after they’d run someone over because they couldn’t steer properly.