Why Don't Teenagers Like To Drive Anymore (insurance, car payments, vehicles)

[jamaicabound60565]

I'm in my late 20's so was a teenager not too long ago. I remember when I turned 16 I skipped school and went to get my license on my 16th birthday. Most of my friends did the same. I couldn't wait to drive, was saving up for a car, loved to drive was constantly seeing if my mom needed any errands run since I didn't have my own car and needed permission to borrow hers.

Now days however it seems like kids don't want to drive. I can't tell you how many 17, 18, 20 year old kids who still don't have their license. It's one thing if you live in the city and hav public transport and don't need to drive but in the burbs you can't get anywhere without a car.

I'm surprised at the number of teenagers who could care less about geting their license and I find it very strange thats the complete oppositve of my generation which wasn't that long ago.

My guess is xbox live they can play games with friends without going to their house. That and facebook, twitter, etc. Just seems so wierd to me 18 year old kids who aren't driving nad have no desire to get a license. Play online with freinds and mom drives them where they need to go

[mgt04]

I read an article on this not too long ago describing exactly what you're saying. I thought its a little strange too...because even though teenagers connect more digitally now rather than face to face the fact of the matter is unless you commute to work in the city, have mass transit easily accessible from your home to your job, or you can bike/walk to work, a car is your only other means of getting from A to B.

[North Beach Person]

This generation of parents has determined that their kids will be as safe as possible, including not allowing them to drive. I've seen it as a teacher, kids aren't driving to school. In my system the Seniors typically are out several days prior to graduation. Even on the day they come in to graduation practice they will ride the bus. Then, when practice is over, their parents come in and drive them to the Senior Picnic.

My second daughter was somewhat like that, why drive when someone will haul you around? She had other issues about driving (best friend was killed on the way to school senior year) but, now that she has her license she can't stay out of the car.

[jamaicabound60565]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

This generation of parents has determined that their kids will be as safe as possible, including not allowing them to drive. I've seen it as a teacher, kids aren't driving to school. In my system the Seniors typically are out several days prior to graduation. Even on the day they come in to graduation practice they will ride the bus. Then, when practice is over, their parents come in and drive them to the Senior Picnic.

My second daughter was somewhat like that, why drive when someone will haul you around? She had other issues about driving (best friend was killed on the way to school senior year) but, now that she has her license she can't stay out of the car.

you make some good point but id say in my experience its the kids who dont want to drive, the parents want them to drive so they can stop having to drive them everywhere, get some help running errands or driving younger brothers and sisters around.

i personally wanted to get my license so bad. felt it gave me freedom, freedom to go where i wanted when i wanted...providing my mom would give me the car lol. i thought having a car was awesome for dates, being able to pick someone up, take them somehwer, and ideally use the car for a private room later in the evening lol. with a car you cna go where you want and maybe fibb to mom and dad about where you went. we'd drive around and that was kind of what our social scene was amybe stop at a fast food place or parking lot and hangout and meetup with other people.

now days it seems like many of my neighbors kids, older friends kids, etc are getting to the point where they are forcing their kids to get a drivers license cuz they are sick of driving them to work, school, activities.

in my area public transportation is nonexistant so there's no taking the bus

[#1soonerfan]

I've read a slew of articles that say the same thing.

I'm only 26, but I remember being so excited to get my licence. That was only 9 years ago, I really can't believe things have changed that much. I think some of it is economics. Not too many cheap rust buckets out there that would make a good first car. My first was a 92 Nissan Stanza. It was a piece of crap, but it was cheap, easy on gas, and low to insure. Nowadays, a car that old is going need a ton of repairs, and insurance and gas is way more now (I remember when I first got my car and gas was at a ridiculously high $1.97/gallon in 2003). Couple this with the fact that jobs are now so hard to come by and I can see why some kids at the lower end of the scale are skipping driving.

What I don't get is kids who have a few more resources are ditching driving. Sure it may be nice to sit inside and communicate with your friends via Facebook, Skype, text messaging, etc. rather than drive to meet them. I guess my bigger concern is what implications does this have for society as a whole. I could write a novel about the lack of face to face interaction and its consequences, but this is a car forum.

Public transportation is improving, but for most places it is nowhere near adequate to substitute for a car 100%. When I first got my car it was my first taste of adult responsibility as a teen. I had to go get a job, which taught me time management (was fun having to juggle a job and homework) and some level of financial budgeting. A car was also allowed me to do a lot of after school activities since I wasn't depending on parents for a ride.

If young people can't get a drivers license and somewhat provide for themselves, what will force them to start having to gain responsibility? Cell phone bills? I highly doubt it, since I'm sure most parents just cover that anyway.

[Brian_M]

Er, I turned 16 in the 1980's, lived in Rural Wyoming and my parents ended up forcing me to get my drivers license after I graduated high school. They didn't want me using buses and relying on my mountain bike.

It's not a new thing.

I could care less about driving. It's something that's a necessary evil, and I've done more than an average bit of it (was hitting on 30k miles a year there for awhile). I'd rather spend my money on things other than car payments (both vehicles we own are more than a decade old and bought cash/outright), insurance, maintenance items and fuel. I'm sure that most people spend ~$5k a year on their auto, meanwhile last year I went to Ireland for 2 weeks on $3k. I would MUCH rather do that.

I'm going to guess that more people are realizing that they can choose to spend money on different things. And more people are choosing to skip the whole car thing in favor of other stuff. I scrimped and saved for a high-end mountain bike when I was in high school and put thousands of miles on that bike. I didn't have to work my tail off for insurance/gas/etc, so I went out and rode the bike/enjoyed life more vs. working more. It worked for me and I wouldn't change a thing about how I handled the first few years I was legal to drive.

FWIW, I only had a car through college, then sold it and went motorcycle only for nearly a decade. Still need a license, but not a car either.

[tonyurban]

I'm 22 and my imput is that driving is just such a chore. 20 years ago driving might have been lovely but nowadays that isn't so. I think it's very ignorant to say that it's because of technology and stuff. As if all younger people do is sit and text all day. We still like to go to the movies, concerts, games, we have to go to school, jobs, etc. So saying that xbox, facebook, and the like is the reason nobody drives anymore is just silly.

Driving isn't freedom if you're stuck in traffic, worrying about maintenance, and paying high priced gas all the while starting out with your life. Driving is actually a setback and uneconomical. 75 dollars for a monthly train pass vs 200 dollars in gas, money for maintenance, and stress in traffic..................uuuuh can you say no brainer. Don't forget about the occasional ticket.

[findly185]

My father just sold his 1990 525i to a co-worker who was buying it for his son, who is a jr in college. That's right, he's almost 22 years old has no car and no licence. He goes to school about 3 hours away and his parents come and pick him up and drop him off at the beginning and end of every semester, during long weekends, holidays etc. This blew my mind. I'm a girl, I love cars, got my DL when I was 16, can change my own oil, steering fluid, maintenance-related things and I'm only 4 years older then him.

I grew up around guys who loved cars and did everything in their power to drive as early as possible. It's like a right of passage for most men.

I think this epidemic is super strange. I dont understand it.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by tonyurban

I'm 22 and my imput is that driving is just such a chore. 20 years ago driving might have been lovely but nowadays that isn't so. I think it's very ignorant to say that it's because of technology and stuff. As if all younger people do is sit and text all day. We still like to go to the movies, concerts, games, we have to go to school, jobs, etc. So saying that xbox, facebook, and the like is the reason nobody drives anymore is just silly.

Driving isn't freedom if you're stuck in traffic, worrying about maintenance, and paying high priced gas all the while starting out with your life. Driving is actually a setback and uneconomical. 75 dollars for a monthly train pass vs 200 dollars in gas, money for maintenance, and stress in traffic..................uuuuh can you say no brainer. Don't forget about the occasional ticket.

Yeah, yours is the first generation that has faced any of the above.

[ReblTeen84]

Originally Posted by tonyurban

I'm 22 and my imput is that driving is just such a chore. 20 years ago driving might have been lovely but nowadays that isn't so. I think it's very ignorant to say that it's because of technology and stuff. As if all younger people do is sit and text all day. We still like to go to the movies, concerts, games, we have to go to school, jobs, etc. So saying that xbox, facebook, and the like is the reason nobody drives anymore is just silly.

Driving isn't freedom if you're stuck in traffic, worrying about maintenance, and paying high priced gas all the while starting out with your life. Driving is actually a setback and uneconomical. 75 dollars for a monthly train pass vs 200 dollars in gas, money for maintenance, and stress in traffic..................uuuuh can you say no brainer. Don't forget about the occasional ticket.

I'm the complete opposite. We have 3 vehicles - my Jeep, her Camry and my bike. Most people our age (I'm 27, wife is 34) look at us like we're nuts for having 3 vehicles.."but you only need one!". No. I work 35mi from work, and both of us have separate schedules. I'm essential staff at my job, if it snows, I have to come in. She's a teacher, if it snows, she doesn't go in. I don't mind driving in snow, but I prefer it be as easy as possible, which is why I have an AWD Jeep. The Camry does ok in light snow, it stays parked anytime else. If we need to go out, we use the Jeep.

I ride the bike 6-8 months a year. If it's above 35 degrees, I'm probably riding. Saves me on gas and I get to use HOV, plus it's relaxing. My insurance is low enough that I don't care about it. I consider gas another bill, I drive an SUV so I expect to have a high gas cost. I don't live my life around gas either, if we want to drive somewhere, we do.