Vehicle Abstinence: Youths Waiting Longer to Drive
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 02.27.08
In the last decade "the proportion of 16-year-olds nationwide who hold driver’s licenses has dropped from nearly half to less than one-third," according to the Federal Highway Administration. These numbers are surprising: “It’s a big change in a major American ritual of driving as early as possible,” Michael T. Marsden, an expert on car culture, said. So what can account for the fact that what has become a rite of passage and a symbol of freedom in America seems to be losing importance among America's youth? Is it concern about global warming, a kind of desire to abstain from carbon intensive activities until alternative fuel vehicles become more prevalent? Or is it that, increasingly aware of America's obesity epidemic, our youth have en masse begun riding their bikes, walking and taking mass transit? Unfortunately, the real reasons are probably somewhat more banal. See what they are after the fold.
One major change influencing the trend has been that "the number of school systems offering the [driver's education] program has plummeted to about 20 percent today, from 90 percent in the 1980s," dramatically raising the cost as students are forced to go to commercial driving academies.
Another factor is the rising cost of insurance. "Where parents used to be able to add their young drivers to their policies for a nominal charge, it now costs 80 percent to 100 percent more to add a 16-year-old to a family’s auto policy." Teenagers have always been the most likely to be involved in accidents, but insurance companies, perhaps wary of rising costs from natural disasters, have begun raising rates to better match the risk.
Additionally, "Graduated driver-licensing laws, which delay awarding a full license until a teenager spends time with a parent or driving under certain conditions, are also keeping down the number of 16-year-olds on the road." These laws have also "helped reduce the number of fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers by about 11 percent."
One would hope that, increasingly, teens are finding ways to get around that don't involve automobiles, but it turns out that the final reason fewer youths are getting their licenses is that parents seem happy to drive them around, "and pastimes like surfing the Web keep them indoors and glued to computers." Hmm. So much for dealing with the obesity epidemic.
In other words, what we're seeing isn't a shift in our car culture, rather certain factors--higher costs for driving, an economic downturn, etc.--are changing when youths enter that car culture as drivers. In the meantime, teens simply hitch rides or spend more time indoors. Perhaps in ten years we'll be reading an article describing the surprising drop in vehicle miles traveled, and marvel at the fundamental change in our culture of mobility, from a vehicle-centric one, to one centered on public forms of transit that exist on a human scale.
Via: ::NY Times and ::Wired
See Also: ::Car Free and Happy, Even Just for One Day, ::In China, Winning Girls and Glory--Without a Car, ::Eco-Friendly Car Insurance and ::Insurance Policies Falling Into the Drink
As an 18 year old without a drivers permit, I feel I am an authority on this subject. I never got my permit/license because rather than being a source of freedom, I see it as really more of a burden. Even if my parents let me take their car (doubtfull), between the cost of gas, insurance, (potential) tickets, etc, using a car would make me get a job, and I value my free time over the mobility a car would give me.
Plus, with my parents willing to drive me to most places, friends with cars, and my willingness to walk (uncommon these days), I'm usually mobile enough as it is.
Also, for one, I value my drinking over driving. Drinking always takes precident.
As an 18 year old without a drivers permit, I feel I am an authority on this subject. I never got my permit/license because rather than being a source of freedom, I see it as really more of a burden. Even if my parents let me take their car (doubtfull), between the cost of gas, insurance, (potential) tickets, etc, using a car would make me get a job, and I value my free time over the mobility a car would give me.
Plus, with my parents willing to drive me to most places, friends with cars, and my willingness to walk (uncommon these days), I'm usually mobile enough as it is.
Also, for one, I value my drinking over driving. Drinking always takes precident.
I didn't get my license until I was 18, and I absolutely had to in order to get myself to college when I was living on my own in an unfamiliar area with little-to-no public transportation. I grew up in a small town where you could ride your bike everywhere you needed to, however, and if you needed to go into the city there was always someone who could give you a ride. There was no point in getting a car, and the general sentiment among my friends who had cars was that they had to get a job that cut into studying in order to pay their parents for it, only to not be allowed to go anywhere anyway and only use it to do errands for their parents. There's really not much point in every kid having a licenser when they're 16, especially if their family can't afford another car.
I'm almost 22 and still don't have a license, but then I live in London (in the UK you can only start to learn at 17). Only one person I know living in London owns a car, a few more can drive but choose not to bother with the expense.
The American economy is decimated,their parents make the same money now that they did when their kids were born but the cost of living(and cars) has double and tripled.
Only the most financially secure Americans can even afford cars for their teenaged children in 2008!
Mt last economy car cost as much as my first house and I am in my 30s!
I'm a 23 year old without a car. Carless youths are a bit of a minority in Belgium. I can't for the life of me understand why everyone here thinks cars are such a necessity, but obviously, they're wrong. If I'm forced to buy some sort of motorised vehicle, it'll be a motorcycle.
When I go back to the states I have decided to use public transportation and bikes. LIving in Germany has converted me to walking and biking everywhere, now it's normal to me.
When I go back to the states I have decided to use public transportation and bikes. LIving in Germany has converted me to walking and biking everywhere, now it's normal to me.
I never got my permit/license because rather than being a source of freedom, I see it as really more of a burden. Even if my parents let me take their car; between the cost of gas, insurance, (potential) tickets, etc, using a car would make me get a job, and I value my free time over the mobility a car would give me. Plus, with my parents willing to drive me to most places, friends with cars, and my willingness to walk (uncommon these days), I'm usually mobile enough as it is."
As an 18 year old, I couldn't agree more with DAN A.
And for the record, even though I am on Treehugger everyday reading nearly every post, I am not obese, and am running the L.A Marathon this Sunday!
Also, I am going to be going to Humboldt State University, a well known eco-college. They told me I don't need a car, because it will just rust, and there is very accessible public transportation-at no cost-for Humboldt students.
i'm 24, a grad school grad in north jersey. i've long been rather anti-car. I did get my license when i was 20, but i don't own a car and so rarely use it. i'm all about walking, riding bikes, and mass transit (and all my business is in nyc or newark). i can shop, travel, be places on time, etc. with little trouble using those methods. cars are nothing but a dirty, polluting, unaffordable, unnecessary, pompous burden. it's war (with drivers) if you ride bikes in no. jersey or nyc, but its a good fiight.
I'm 17, and my parents have been pressuring me to get my permit, which is ironic. I only want to drive zero emissions vehicles. I stick to walking, public transportation, and biking. If they didn't release a zero emissions car by the time I was 37, I'd still be without a car. Neutral footprint for me. Being Vegan definitely helps as well.
I own a car, I got my licence 4 days after my 16th birthday, then again, I also lived 35 miles from my high school, there was no bus system to bring you home after sports practice. The mountian I worked at was 45 miles away. With out a car it would have been a very boring high school experiece, then again, I lived in the county, had a lived in a city, I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have even noticed it!
It's a bit of a two sided issue with me. I'm 16 yet I'm attending college 25 miles from where I live. In order to get there in time for class I would have to take two separate bus system and it would not only take several hours for a round trip, but it would actually cost about 2x as much to drive to school.
In addition to that, I've had a small CH-80 scooter for some time now, but California law won't let me get an M1 permit until I finish drivers training and pay $250 for a 3 weeks training class. My 22 year old scooter (which still gets around 80mpg) only cost me $400.
I'm also trying to get a job, and the ability to drive to (relatively, as far as our bus system is concerned) distant job interviews is a necessity.
Thus while I rather dislike cars, I'm probably going to end up driving my dad's old taurus wagon around until I get a job and pay for my training class and/or move into an apartment closer to campus. It really sucks.