News, Why are US teenagers driving less? (CV joint, windshield, minivans)

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by Merc63

And even at that, we're seeing fewer and fewer young people seeing the car as an end unto itself, and becoming merely a tool, a means to do something else. A lot of car nuts were grabbed early on as youngsters by owning and working on their cars and customizing them and gathering with other like minded kids. It's getting harder and harder to do that, and the reasons of having a cool car at a young age are evaporating. Ironically, car nuts are turning to the internet to find other car fans instead of buying/building a car and driving it to where they all hang out and talk cars.

Yeah, when I was 16 in '73, there were a lot of cool older cars available, that you could buy and improve a bit as you drove them - repairs and mods. The cheap older cars of today are, I guess, mostly 1990's models, which are harder to work on, and less charismatic even if you get them running right.

It's also true that the Gen Y people are just not as interested in cars, the same way that most of them are not interested in working out. When I was in high school, a cool car and a good build meant action from the co-eds, and lack of both rendered you damn near date-proof. Not that way anymore. Not sure what they base status on. Maybe they don't have status as such anymore?

[GTOlover]

Originally Posted by motormaker

^^ Add to that the law has clamped down on crusing in many areas and frankly there are not the cool cruse areas that were available anymore.

Yeah but in 2001-2002 the Fast and the Furious came out and it got down right dangerous and alot of the older Gearheads left.. Since alot of teens would get into drunken friday nights fights in the Cruise-in parking lots and the police cracked down.

[motormaker]

^^ Correct. The other problem in some areas of So CA they were clogging up traffic because they had no place to hang out.

[Chango]

Originally Posted by John1960

I can see gas prices making teenagers not want to drive as much now then in the past.

News, American teenagers are taking to the road in fewer numbers than ever before. What's behind this trend and does it mean the end of the car as adolescent status symbol and rite of passage?

Recent research suggests many young Americans prefer to spend their money and time chatting to their friends online, as opposed to the more traditional pastime of cruising around in cars.

BBC News - Why are US teenagers driving less?

It's the cost for sure. When I was a teen, I could (and did) fill up my old jeep's gas tank for 10 bucks and have a whole day of fun across the entire state.

Today it costs 50 bucks to fill up the tank of my "economical" Camry.

Things have changed A LOT in 15 years. Life is turning ever inward to a virtual world instead of getting out and experiencing the real one. Even instead of "parking" kids these days seem to prefer to just send cellphone pictures of their junk to each other instead...

[Chango]

Originally Posted by Merc63

And even at that, we're seeing fewer and fewer young people seeing the car as an end unto itself, and becoming merely a tool, a means to do something else. A lot of car nuts were grabbed early on as youngsters by owning and working on their cars and customizing them and gathering with other like minded kids. It's getting harder and harder to do that, and the reasons of having a cool car at a young age are evaporating. Ironically, car nuts are turning to the internet to find other car fans instead of buying/building a car and driving it to where they all hang out and talk cars.

I see this too. I really miss car culture, and apart from the yearly local car show, the only place to be enthusiastic about cars around here is on the net.

[MNTroy]

Everyone has mentioned the cost of owning a vehicle, but the price of vehicles especially used cars has skyrocketed. Due to the failure of the "Cash for Clunkers" program, good lucking find a serviceable used car for under $3500 that does not have over 100,000 miles.

[tvdxer]

Most kids my age got their permit at 15 and their license at 16 (sophomore year of high school). I was one of the last to get my license in the summer between junior and senior year when I was almost 18. I grew up in a suburban/rural-area where it almost impossible to have a social life without a license unless you rely on friends for rides. Many worked a part-time job to pay for their gas and if they had to pay it, insurance and car payments. That was back in '02 - '04, when most teens got cell phones about at...the time they got their license.

My brother got his license right on his 16th birthday; my sister failed the test the first time, on her 16th birthday, but re-took it a week later and passed.

Middle-aged adults like the one that probably wrote this article like to attribute everything to increased electronics usage among my generation, but many teenagers are on their family's cell phone plan and even those who aren't pay no more than ~$100 a month for the privilege of having a smart phone. That's about 15 hours at minimum wage. I would not say it is so much that as a combination of:

1. Rising gas prices. When we took to the roads, gas was $1.20 - $1.60 / gallon; now, it's $3.30 / gallon around here, and in recent years, it has been as high in some areas as $4.50 / gallon. This surely is a factor in deterring kids from driving cars when there are other options available, and modifies their driving behavior if they do have a license. I remember when I was 16 - 17, one of the main attractions of a license was just "cruising around" with friends for hours at a time; while this is still done, I'm sure that gas prices have put a clamp on this.

2. Lack of jobs - Back when I was in high school, everybody was hiring and almost everybody who had a license also had an after-school job, be it at a fast food restaurant, cafe, department store, or garden center. They worked to fund any car-related expenses that their family made them pay (gas, insurance, car payments, etc.) Today, with employment rates above 10% in many states, these jobs are increasingly taken by adults.

3. Increased acceptance of public transit, bicycling, and walking as a method of getting around / decreased interest in car ownershio - While I have yet to see this locally (a girl who lived four very walkable blocks from a local high school refused to walk there - and got her license at the age of 16 and drove there!), it would seem to exist in certain areas, especially more urban areas which are better served. Plus, it's perceived as "green", which might be important to some people.

4. Restrictive licensing laws - Many, if not all states, have a separate license for 16-17 year olds which can be much more restrictive. Minnesota has this, but I didn't see it deter anyone from driving, though.

5. Interest in other things - There's a lot more to do at home than there was in the past. Xbox, Wii, DDR, the internet, etc., although none of these things replicates the freedom found driving.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by Merc63

I don't buy the cost of gas excuse as even though gas is about $3-4/gallon, even minimum wage is much higher than when gas was only a buck a gallon. I spend less of my paycheck on gas now than when I was making $7/hr and gas was only a dollar a gallon.

I'm going to say that its the fact that the car is not the ticket to the social connectedness that it used to be. As a teen, you can't go to cruise spots, you can't drive each other around, you dont' need to go to the dying malls, you dont' even need to hang out face to face to be connected to all your friends. Driving around isn't freedom anymore.

Minimum wage at $5.15 a hour, gas $1.30 / g: gallon of gas takes 15 minutes to earn nominally

Minimum wage at $7.15 a hour, gas $3.50 / g: gallon of gas takes nearly 30 minutes to earn.

[IonRedline08]

I think that, other than the cost, the main reason is that kids are shuttled around everywhere by their (over)protective parents. Almost everyone I know takes their kids to school and picks them up and then carts them to their multitude of activities, so, they probably don't need a car.

I am almost 32, graduated in 98, and wanted my license desperately so I didn't have to ride the bus to school or walk to work.

[Trimac20]

Sounds like a good thing. Maybe they'll start improving public transport. Cities are also more urban than they were 30 years ago, with more people interested in living the city lifestyle using transit. It's possible, although not always that easy, to live and work in LA only using the metro. That was impossible about 20 years ago.