The first year Georgia mandated a driver’s license was 1937 but a driving exam was not required.  1937 is the same year Charles Hopkins created this I.D. card for himself.

Charles Hopkins ID Card

The advent of the automobile in the first decade of the 20th Century created a lot of problems especially with accidents.  60% of motorized vehicle fatalities involved children in the street.  There were no traffic laws and cars were the newcomers onto the street full of animal powered vehicles.  ‘Serious debate was held in courtrooms and in editorials over whether the automobile was inherently evil. The state of Georgia’s Court of Appeals wrote: “Automobiles are to be classed with ferocious animals and … the law relating to the duty of owners of such animals is to be applied … . However, they are not to be classed with bad dogs, vicious bulls, evil disposed mules, and the like.”‘ from an article in the Detroit News.