gerv 

Another Grist article. Driving has lost its cool for young Americans

Apparently driving statistics point to a declining interest in getting a driver's licence among teenagers.

Is this really happening?

Roody

The figures seem to speak for themselves. As a baby boomer, I remember how excited my friends were about turning 16 and learning to drive. Even living in an inner city neighborhood, they couldn't wait. Among my grandson's friends, they seem to be less interested--and he lives in a rural area.

I was interested in the role that texting and the Internet play in the decline in driving. "When we worry about driving and texting, we assume that the most important thing the person is doing is piloting the car. But what if the most important thing they're doing is texting? How do we free them up so they can text without needing to worry about driving?" (from the Grist article.)

Dahon.Steve

Good article. Thanks for posting.

>>>>
In 2008, just 31 percent of American 16-year-olds had their driver's licenses, down from 46 percent in 1983, according to a new study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention. The numbers were down for 18-year-olds too, from 80 percent in 1983 to 65 percent in 2008, and the percentage of twenty- and thirtysomethings with driver's licenses fell as well. And even those with driver's licenses are trying to drive less; a new survey by car-sharing company Zipcar found that more than half of drivers under the age of 44 are making efforts to reduce the time they spend packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes.>>>>

I thought this was interesting. Another article I read pointed out that cash for clunkers took tens of thousands of inexpensive used cars off the market. As a result, the price of used cars skyrocketed to levels we have never seen before. Teens today would have to either buy a new car (with the help from their parents) or get an overpriced used car and deal with high insurance costs. There are no cheap alternatives for todays teen wishing to drive and this can explain why so many are choosing to go carfree.

Millions are just being priced out of the motoring world.

cabledawg

You ever thought that maybe video games and the internet may have contributed to this decline? I mean why go drive when you can hook up with your friends on MW3 or WOW? My kids dont have much for video games (I buy about a generation behind everyone else) and they arent allowed on the internet much except for schoolwork, so driving appeals to them alot. Well that and guns.

I think to make a better statistic, you'd have to stick with ten years or less. I mean if I wanted to do so, I could compare teens with driver's licenses from 1930 to now. It would probably show a huge incline and I could say that cars were more popular now than they were back then. I'm just saying that 1983 to now is a huge gap in time and doesnt prove much.

dynodonn 

I know one reason for the decline in the 16 yo segment was due to stricter driving requirements for that age group, coupled with extremely high insurance rates. My children simply waited until they turned 18 to bypass many of the driving restrictions our state imposed on under 18 drivers.

Artkansas 

Well, I suspect that for teens, the phone provides what the car used to, access to your friends and status.

Caretaker

"Rich Ling, a sociologist who studies the culture of texting, grew up near Denver but now lives in Oslo with his family. He told me that Denmark has so many buses and streetcars that teenagers often don’t bother getting their driver’s license until later in life. “My daughter is 18, and she’s only sort of starting to think about driving,” he says. As a result, texting while driving “isn’t as big a deal.”"


Sounds like Rich Ling should spend less time studying the culture of texting and more time studying geography.

https://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/0...mpson_texting/

tony_merlino

I think this is a major contribution. I certainly haven't pushed my oldest to drive, though he's old enough. Luckily, we live in a town where you can walk wherever you need to go. But he'd be hard-pressed to afford a car if he decided he needed one.

gerv 

Certainly how you slice the pie chart is going to give you a different viewpoint. Since 1930 we would see a huge increase and in the last 10 years a decrease. That decrease is fueled partly the economy, but guessing other factors play in here. The phenomenon is not only in the US either. That Japanese, for example, are seeing low rates of car ownership among their young and its a concern for their car manufacturers.

ReinderDijkhuis

Here's more, er, grist for our mills: Fewer young, but more elderly, have driver’s license.

If this trend continues, driving will soon be seen to be for old people.

Roody

It looks like good news all around, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

gerv 

To my reading the article simply states that there are an awful lots of old people around and seems to explain the reduction as a factor of depopulation. That certainly a part of the equation, but there are certainly other factors hitting this demographic.

As a die-hard pattern seeker, I'm seeing the loss of interest as a factor of too much complexity. You see this all the time on evolutionary trees. Species (or phenomena or ideas...) become too specialized (pver-developed), changes occur that make it difficult to adapt... then the branch dies off. Or adapts and joins another branch.

Same thing with cars. At one time they were fairly simple devices. You could repair your own. Nowadays they have all kind of gizmos like a rear bumper camera and collision avoidance radar. They are too complex to work on yourself. You don't under the technology. It seems foreign to your understanding. And it's certainly too expensive.

Yeah.. all that

Roody

And more.... Just about everything connected with driving has gotten more difficult. The roads have even gotten more complex, with sophisticated traffic signals, and left turn only lane from 3PM until 6PM. You have to shop around online for insurance, instead of just visiting your friendly agent once a year. Tou not only pump your own gas, but ring up your own fuel purchase and pour your own coffee to go.

rnorris

This, and much higher costs for automobile ownership now compared to previous decades, as stated in previous posts. I'm amazed to remember that several of my friends in high school bought their first cars for less than $200, even $50, which was cheap even in the '70s. It was possible to keep them running with relatively minimal mechanical skills.

My younger relatives are mirroring the national trend. Of the six of them that are between 16 and 32, only two were enthusiastic about getting their license at 16. Two others resisted until military service and employer requirements forced them to get one. The other two have shown no interest in driving to this day.

gerv 

Yeah... somehow when a technology gets beyond the DIY do-able stage, you've got to ask if it's too complex, over-engineered. I suppose the computer I'm typing on could fall into that category, but it's not likely to break down 50 miles out of town on a cold winter's night.

Suburban

Interesting. When I was 18, I wasn't enthusiastic about getting my license. I preferred to spend money on clothes, cellphone and clubbing. I found the few people I knew that had a car, were consistently lumped with DD duty. Many nights of taking care of drunk friends, getting them home and cleaning up vomit. It's best to pass on that one. Really, it looked more like an expense and pita when I was 18.

Artkansas 

And if it does, you won't have to call a tow truck.

tony_merlino

I think the cost is the major factor for this decline, combined with stricter licensing requirements. New Jersey has made it a lot harder for 16 year olds to drive, and is just about to make it harder for 17 year olds. It used to be that a 16 year old could drive, period, no limitations. That's not true anymore.

This is from the NJ DOT's website:

All permit or probationary (formerly provisional) drivers under age 21 must display a reflectorized decal on each license plate (front/back) of any motor vehicle they operate (P.L. 2009, c.37-Kyleigh’s Law, eff. May 1, 2010).

Drivers under 21 subject to New Jersey's Graduated Driver License (GDL) requirements:

• Special learner's permit
• Examination permit
• Probationary (formerly Provisional) license

Note: Decals must be displayed for road test of drivers under age 21.

The effect of the decal is that these drivers get pulled over for spot checks a lot more frequently than non-decal bearing drivers, and getting nailed for something during the probationary period can make it much more difficult to get a regular license later on. So a lot of kids opt to wait until they don't have to wear the scarlet A on their chests.

And the cost is much higher than it was. Adding my son to my insurance policy would triple my rates. I'm not sure that complexity of maintenance is a major factor. In my day, i.e. the late 1960s, quite a few boys did some of their own maintenance, but I wouldn't even say half of them did. And virtually none of the girls did their own work. Yet everyone wanted to drive.

Roody

Well, it's probably for the better. Some neuroscientists are saying that adolescent brains aren't fully developed, especially the frontal cortex where judgments are made. These scientists say that adolescents may be at greater risk when driving, even when the new probationary licenses are taken into account.

enigmaT120

Back in the 80s I couldn't afford to drive until I was 25, due to car insurance premiums. I rode a motorcycle though. And bicycled a lot. I don't know how other people afforded it.

009jim

When I was young I saved every penny to afford a car but now the companies marketing the new electronic gear have seemingly convinced young folks that they cannot live without the latest gadget and a $100 per month contract. Hence young folks have no money to buy a car. Why get a licence if no car.

BWWpat

You don't need a car to play Xbox. I had a bunch of friends when I was younger that actually admitted they preferred to not have a car because they expected friends to be able to drive them around, and didn't want to get asked for a ride.

speedxl

Folks the car culture is dying, all these hipster kids don't care about hotrodding, racing or cruising like we used too. Add to that the cost of things is deffenitaly a damper ! These kids are at the fore front of the green movement and they are learning that cars are not neccesary... I live in Miami, Florida where getting your car was like a step up in status now these Kids are into scooters or single speed bikes... The economy is the biggest restriction they have against getting one.... Maybe thats why the decline as compared to 1983 where you could buy a car for cheap.. I am an auto tech by vocation and can tell you that technology has also been detrimental twords this decline, even I am car lite at 42 years old ( fully capable of working on anything) because of not wanting to deal with my own cars... I get around on a Motorcycle ( 25% ) and via bicycle (65%) and train (10%) of the time ... I am an exception and wish it was like Denmark or Copenhagen here, yes I wish for no cars in the city...

Roody

Good post. To me, carfree city centers is not too much to wish for in the near future!

gerv 

Sounds plausible. Maybe that's what behind this... I knew those Xboxes were good something