Gen Z is less likely to have a driver's license

rembrandt

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Turning 16 and earning your driver’s license is a major rite of passage for many young Americans. Though this milestone represents more freedom and access for teenagers, data shows that Generation Z no longer values driver’s licenses the same way past generations did. Only one in 25 licensed drivers in the U.S. is 19 or younger – a decline from more than two decades prior, according to data from the Department of Transportation.

Increasing access to technology is one reason why young people are opting out of driving. Teenagers find community online and can connect with friends any time they please.

On top of increased online connectivity, ride share apps like Lyft and Uber are a common form of transportation, and some teenagers prefer public transportation or biking.

Teenagers are less likely to get a driver’s license. Between 1983 and 2022, the number of 16-year-olds with driver’s licenses declined from about half to a quarter, according to the Department of Transportation. At the same time, 18-year-olds with driver’s licenses dropped from 80% to 60%.

Younger members of Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012) are either entirely opting out of getting their license or delaying the process. Since 2000, the number of 16-year-olds with driver’s licenses decreased nearly 27%.

Millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation X (people born between 1965 and 1980) represent about 25.9% and 28.2% of all licensed drivers, respectively.

Of the 21.4 million 15 to 19-year-olds in 2022, about 40% of them were licensed. In 2000, 48% of this age group was licensed, according to the Department of Transportation.

Why are less teenagers driving? Driving anxiety is another reason whyyoung people are less motivated to get their license. Last year the Washington Post reported that incidents of road rage and aggressive driving were on the rise. Increased hostility on the road matched with a mental health crisis among teenagers can make this rite of passage an anxiety-ridden experience rather than an exciting one.
 
Car culture overall is waning. Car-show attendees 30 years ago were elderly. They're even more elderly now! Partially it's environmental consciousness. Partially smart-phones and digital connectivity. Partially just a reluctance to engage with the whole rigmarole of community or sitting in traffic. And partially a retreat from all mechanical things, be it automotive tinkering or driving itself.
 
The law where I lived required me to wait until 18. Learner's permit at 17, license at 18.
But the other side of the coin was that the legal drinking age was 18, while it was 21 in all the adjoining states, so I guess things evened out.

I do agree that the young folk don't see cars and driving the same way we did.
 
I remember that the most important thing in my life at the time was to get my DL when I turned 16. I took DriversEd in summer school and ace'd the book and driving portion.

We had a DrEd car with 3 on the tree (clutch.) We learned in a big parking lot. No one in my group could master the clutch the first day except me. The instructor even let me drive back to the school. (Heh, heh, my dad had let me learn the clutch in our long driveway long before DrEd.)

What a great time to be alive! Freedom for me was having a DL!

My dad was very generous in letting me drive the family car and also drive truck for the family business (for pay!)
 
I took drivers ed as soon as I was old enough, then got the permit and license asap too. We used to go out at night and just drive around When we hit 18 beer and wine was legal so we'd drive around and drink beer. :angel:

My 17 yo Grandson only took drivers ed because it is required in his state. His Dad has a commercial DL, but does not use it these days afaik.
 
I also think that car ownership is down...

I have a niece that used to borrow other people's cars... and since they 'did not need it at the time' let her!!

She is in her 40s now and finally bought a car... I do think she had one or two for a year or two but not sure..
 
My 37 yo DD does not have a drivers license and never learned to drive. Cost of Lyft/Uber less than owning, gasing, insuring, repairing, and parking a vehicle. She makes it work.,
 
It also depends on ones environment. I grew up in an urban environment with good public transportation, then went to college in a place with good public transportation, so I did not get my drivers license until after I started working for Megacorp at 21. Very few of my friends from that environment got their drivers license before age 18.

In urban environments these days, where ridesharing options are most prevalent, that (along with the cost of insurance, parking and maintenance) contributes to the delay in getting a license.

Also, since I was not trying to impress women, and DW, whom I dated in college, did not care if I had a care or not, that aspect of life was not a motivation to get a car :). For me, waiting to get my license at age 21, with a job, was a good thing.
 
I do notice that the younger people around me are in no hurry to get a drivers license... until they realize the freedom that having a drivers license affords them. I started driving at 16, they seem to get the itch around 19.
 
There are more options to driving now than there were in the 1960's when I got my driver's license. Back then for distances greater than one could walk or bicycle, a car was the only way to get around in the area where I grew up. One of DW's grandnieces just got her driver's license at age 19 only because she started college and needs a car to get back home if she's going to get there on weekends. Her younger sister, now age 15, is chomping at the bit to get her license now. So personality figures into it also.
 
I've heard the anxiety thing quite a bit. We are filling our young people's world with thoughts of anxiety, and driving apparently is a big one. There are many others. It is an anxious world.

If the worry is about getting hurt, well, Uber won't save you. Some Uber drivers are terrible. You can feel some pretty serious anxiety taking a Uber trip. Getting T-boned while sitting in the back seat is my anxiety nightmare.

Now, if the driver has anxiety about insurance, cost, responsibility, etc., then avoiding the driving experience certainly helps.
 
Permit at 15, 2 days after16 passed my driving test and stopped at DMV on the way home and registered my car.

My nephew is 23 and still has no inclination to get his license, relies on everyone else to run him around. his 25 YO sister has already lost hers for 2 DWIs
 
This is very interesting, and I would not have guessed that there was a decline.
Walking isn't crowded but I can't imagine not having a vehicle. You would think all young would want one.
 
I have a cousin whose kid wasn’t driving yet in his twenties. Cousin was in town when dad was ill and had to leave and go four hours to give her kid a ride somewhere, then come back. So I wonder if one reason for the decline in young drivers is helicopter parenting. I would have introduced the kid to uber, not to mention kicked him out of the nest.
 
I have a cousin whose kid wasn’t driving yet in his twenties. Cousin was in town when dad was ill and had to leave and go four hours to give her kid a ride somewhere, then come back. So I wonder if one reason for the decline in young drivers is helicopter parenting. I would have introduced the kid to uber, not to mention kicked him out of the nest.
I have a feeling you are onto something here. It isn't all about the phones. We started noticing it with family and neighbors in the late 90s. The trend was already setting in. Phones (and the ability of teens to connect this way) just accelerated it.

When I was a kid, and probably you, many homes had one car. Mom wasn't always available to be a "soccer mom" because there was no vehicle, or she also worked and had the vehicle. There was no working from home, she was at work. Helicopters were not available. :)

Instead, we walked a hell of a lot or more frequently rode our bikes everywhere. I road to my little league games all the time. I walked a mile to football practice each day in fall. Good warm up.

So when we turned 16, we were pretty darn tired of it and ready for the freedom.
 
I was born in 1954 and my dad wouldn’t let us girls get our license until 18. My brother was allowed to get his at 16. Most of my friends drove but didn’t have their own cars. We walked or rode our bikes. My dad was really good about giving us rides when he wasn’t at work.
 
I had a drivers license but rarely drove to school. Walked the 6 blocks to and from even when I had BB and FB practice. It would have cost too much to drive, and I or my parents couldn't have afforded that.
 
A driver's license is also commonly used for identification. I don't know how they get by without one for that reason alone.
 
If one lives in a large city, one can get around without a car.
 
A driver's license is also commonly used for identification. I don't know how they get by without one for that reason alone.
I suppose they could get a "non-driver's license ID" . Seems pretty lame for a young person.
 
I've heard the anxiety thing quite a bit. We are filling our young people's world with thoughts of anxiety, and driving apparently is a big one. There are many others. It is an anxious world.
Indeed. The world is objectively safer than it was 40 years ago (nuclear war, AIDS, urban crime,...) but the perception is that it's more dangerous. Cars are incomparably safer, and rate of fatalities per mile-drive are way down. And yet, we collectively believe the exact opposite!
I wonder if one reason for the decline in young drivers is helicopter parenting.
Probably. We expect for our youth to be more conscientious in building their resume for college (and then for work), more adroit in what might be termed office-management arts.... but they're far more supervised and shielded. We treat kids as if they were Soviet citizens in the 1930s... gotta fulfill that 5-year-plan, but no room for individual verve or self-determination.
 
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As a young man, I was always interested in cars. I even owned a Corvette for a while. Now, I want utilitarian vehicles (though I still fantasize about exotic cars.) But owning an expensive/exotic vehicle would really make me nervous. I'd always be concerned about damaging it or having it stolen.

I guess I've outgrown my lust for driving and cars and have become very practical instead. Kinda sad, really.
 

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