Everyone drives nowadays. So many people have their licenses and a car that driving over to the DMV and getting your license on your sixteenth birthday seems like a normal activity. Why is driving something that everyone can do? Why has driving become a right rather than a privilege? Driver’s licenses are much too easy to obtain, and there should be a more rigorous test to receive one.

You’ve probably heard people say something along the lines of, “Oh don’t worry about the test, it’s super easy,” or, “Everyone passes.” And it’s true; most people do pass the test and receive their licenses. Why is it so easy to get something that can lead to an outrageous number of annual deaths? According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, car accidents account for around 35 percent of deaths among 12- to 19-year-olds, yet the licenses are given out like hotcakes.

If a harder test was administered to potential future drivers, fewer people would earn their licenses, and owning a license would mean something instead of being an expected piece in one’s wallet—not to mention that teen deaths, and deaths overall, would significantly decrease. The test, instead of being a simple written test for the permit and an easy driving test for the license, should consist of an IQ test (to test recognition of dangerous situations), an aptitude test (to determine whether the person is predisposed to be a safe and good driver) and a driving test (to finalize one’s ability to drive). If certain benchmarks are hit for all three of the administered tests, then that person should receive his license.

It is true, however, that some very capable people do not pass the driver’s test that is administered currently. This only proves further that the test is flawed. If people who are capable of passing fail, it usually means they made an honest mistake, which does not prove driving ability. If a more rigorous test were applied, people who deserve to drive will drive, and people who do not deserve to drive would have to find other means of transportation.