Driver’s licenses weren’t mandatory until the North Carolina General Assembly passed the Uniform Driver’s License Act in 1935. The bill was a response to the fact that more than 1,000 deaths had occurred on the state’s highways since the rise of the automobile.

The act defined a motor vehicle as “any rubber-tired vehicle propelled or drawn by any power other than muscular.” Aircraft, ambulances and agricultural and industrial tractors were excluded from the licensing requirement.

Drivers were required to be at least 16 years of age, no test was required. Only the word that the applicant was experienced and careful was needed. Exams didn’t become a requirement until 1948.