> drivers licenses exist when no similar requirements existed for horse drawn buggies

They absolutely did.

https://www.tmlw.co.il/db/content/75d5befd0cba51b0639bbf1086...

Note the “one horse and one seat” bit.

That’s closer to a vehicle registration than a license for the driver.

That example also expires in 1880, but there’s various regulations around carriages going back to England in the 1600’s. They were more about congestion and taxes rather than the capabilities of the drivers the way a drivers license tests vision, knowledge of road rules, and practical skills is focused on just how amazingly dangerous cars are.

Critically, you can legally own a street legal car without a license and a license without a car.