From: m35products (m35prod@optonline.net)
Date: Thu Dec 22 2005 - 16:05:32 PST
Joe, you are partially correct. Lots of folks get confused by this
distinction.
As a US citizen, it is your absolute RIGHT to travel anywhere in this
country. The feds cannot restrict PERSONAL inter-state travel, the states
cannot restrict PERSONAL intra-state travel, etc. With a few exceptions (due
to safety considerations) a citizen of any state can walk, rollerskate, ride
a bike, swim, or ride a horse anywhere along public roads or public lands in
this country. If your PRIVILEGE to drive is taken away, you can still take a
cab, a train, a bus, or the shoe-leather express. You can't be fenced-in.
Where the concept gets confusing is by thinking about our everyday
activities, coupled with our proud American heritage of throwing off
governemnt meddling. If I may presume to know what you're thinking, here's
a layman's explanation: The government(s) do not take into consideration
the fact that most citizens of this country would be lost without their
ability to drive. It is unfortunately the way our society has evolved. Other
countries use mass transit and bicycles to a much greater extent. We are
trapped by our own complicated technology, which has spawned laws on top of
laws, etc. Be that as it may, it is still a "right" to travel, but it is a
"privilege" to do the travelling (driving) in a registered, inspected,
insured automobile, on the correct side of the road, staying in lane, and
observing the traffic rules and regulations. Look in any state's motor
vehicle handbook, and you'll no doubt see the word "privilege" written in
the same breath as "license".
Rights, by legal definition, cannot be restricted, annulled, cancelled,
infringed upon, or violated. (The exception is the restriction of certain
federal rights after a person is convicted of a felony)
Privileges can be taken away by the authority which bestows them. It is not
just some "idea". It is the only way it can work, if you think about it for
a minute.
It is the concept upon which all 50 states' motor vehicle laws are based. It
would be a tremendous burden on our legal system, if the government were to
decide that driving is a right. Think of how difficult it would be, from an
American jurisprudence standpoint, to revoke a person's right to drive, or
for that matter, even to be able to do a routine traffic stop. Yikes, the
lawsuits that would result would hogtie the bureaucracy for years. Would you
agree that if driving is a right, and if drinking beer is a right, that
driving after too many beers is also a right? When would the right to drive
kick in? At birth? at puberty? At 18? At 21? All citizens are protected by
constitutional rights, even minors. You see how complicated it gets?
The very word "license" as used in the driving sense derives from a larger
meaning in the law. Here's a couple of far-fetched, but related legal
concepts:
A person who buys a movie ticket is said to be "licensed and privileged" to
enter and remain in the movie theater. (in the old days, the tickets even
had that phrase on the back) The owner of the theater, can, however, cause
the person to be removed, usually at the end of the show. The person never
has a "right" to be in the theater. He has a "privilege" which has a limited
scope of location and time. This license and privilege endures legally only
for as long as the owner allows. Otherwise the theater would be over-flowing
with every homeless person who ever bought a ticket.
Here's another one: I live on a little island, a mile from Long Island. No
bridge, no tunnel. I don't own a boat. I pay $1.00 (foot passenger) to
$5.00 (car & driver) to $20.00 (M35) to the ferry company every time I need
to go to the next town. If I were to complain about my right to travel being
violated, the official answer would be "go ahead and swim."
Ask any lawyer, and he/she will be able to explain it better than this old
truck driver.
APB (not a lawyer, I just play one on this forum, but I've handed out a few
speeding tickets, and I swam across, once, to prove a point)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Foley" <redmenaced@yahoo.com>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 5:42 PM
Subject: Re: [MV] Chalk's -Big brother? Driving
>
> > It's a privilege and that carries with it some
> > obligations.
> ++++++++++
> Where did you get that idea?
>
> I just want to know the history of that assumption.
>
> We have the right to travel, and others not
> enumerated, how we do it isn't specified.
>
> Joe
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________
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