Your Permit to Drive

[Music] i am your permit to drive an automobile your license to use the highway system of the united states i am only a card in your wallet or purse yet i unroll before your eyes a magic carpet the millions of miles of highways and byways that crisscross the nation i am your round-trip travel ticket your passport to pleasure with me you can motor from the atlantic to the pacific [Music] from the gulf to the great lakes you can travel with me as your only identification [Music] i am the only commuter's ticket you need to drive to and from school or work day after day year after year i have become vital to more than 50 million people in this land of ours [Music] i am their constant companion i go with them wherever they go the farmer on his way at sunup the bus driver the truck driver [Music] the ambulance driver the policeman the cab driver no matter who they are no matter where they are i am with them with me in their possession the drivers of our millions of rubber tired vehicles help keep turning the wheels of our national economy whether they roll over highway or city street for in the past 25 years driving has opened the gate of commerce between city and farm factory and consumer with me in their possession the daily life of millions has taken on new meaning the family the individual has a freedom of movement so new it did not exist in the youth even of our own parents for the automobile has brought with it in less than a lifetime a new way of life a new standard of living a standard of living matched by no other nation in the world because of the automobile new industries have taken their place on our national landscape to add billions to our wealth by providing goods services and job opportunities undreamed of only yesterday our whole way of living has become geared to the automobile i am your permit your license your permission to drive i am a privilege and an obligation your obligation to drive skillfully carefully and legally [Applause] this year there will again be thousands of innocent victims of those who will not recognize this obligation i will be among the last papers of tens of thousands who will have no further use for me i may be merely a means of identification of almost a million whose injuries may be permanent a million accident victims whose numbers contain twice as many 15 to 24 year old drivers as any other over and over i ask myself why is it the supposed thoughtlessness of youth that takes such a toll is it an experience that leads to the taking of foolish chances is it the failure of adults to teach the young people the right way to drive or is it my fault have i allowed myself to become taken for granted i try to tell people when they write their names across my face that they're signing more than a signature that they are signing a pledge a pledge to be the kind of driver they want others to be i try to tell people that as a nation of more than 50 million drivers we owe to each other the courtesy the fair play each of us expects [Music] as a nation we set great store by sportsmanship almost all of us at some time play the game and no matter what the game may be it has its rules rules of courtesy and fairness and sportsmanship rules that determine the pattern of action of all who play each game has its code of rules and each set of rules is known and respected by all who play and all who watch we have come to demand fair play and sportsmanship in all things great and small it has become second nature for example for those who play golf to allow others to play through [Applause] for the bowler to carefully avoid the almost invisible foul line for the runner to stay in his lane the same rules of sportsmanship apply to driving an automobile [Music] unfortunately there are drivers amongst us who are poor sports drivers who can dish it out but can't take it they are the reckless who cause the accidents that maim and kill [Music] they are the offenders whose invasion of the rights of others may lead to curtailment of their own rights for remember i am your permit to drive not your right to drive for you are entitled to drive only as long as you abide by the rules of driving [Music] the rules of driving are fundamentally simple based on common sense common sense safety for yourself and for others when you're walking for instance say by yourself or even with a few other people on a country road there's room to spare and walking is no problem but this milling throng in the heart of a great city can represent the traffic problem of today when you look down on it there's not much difference between a jam of people and a jam of automobiles but when you look closely at the people when you get down among them you'll find there's a vast difference as members of a group of civilized human beings each going about his own individual business there is a smooth surge of motion a unity of action and there's respect for the rights of others a polite avoidance of contact wholehearted cooperation and courtesy so it can be with the milling throng of automobiles across our land so it can be with you staying off the white lines waiting for the green lights stopping at the stop signs slowing down in school zones observing the traffic signs and thinking thinking while you drive about your driving keeping your mind on your driving and your eye on the road the thinking driver the alert driver takes no chances with the lives of himself and others the alert driver can avoid accidents he can slow down for instance in time to protect himself and others in time to avoid the aggravation of minor damage damage that costs money and denies the use of the car [Music] pay the cost of the driving mistakes of others and they of yours in more stringent traffic regulations in higher insurance rates perhaps the poor driver never learned the proper way to drive you have more opportunity than he you have the opportunity to learn the right way to drive the opportunity to avoid the mistakes and habits acquired by others as a good driver you will live to enjoy all the fruits of good driving for i your permit to drive and the open sesame to a lifetime of new experience a lifetime of new beauty i bring wings to your feet a freedom of motion you will learn always to cherish i bring pleasure and responsibility the responsibility to drive well i urge you to guard what i stand for for i permit you to drive [Applause] you