Trend in young people getting a driver's license?

[steve-in-kville]

I'm seeing this in mostly the young ladies... 18, 19 and even early 20's and don't have a license. They rely on others to drive them around. I have a teeage daughter who is in no hurry to get her permit.

Are others seeing this?

[Josh]

I'm seeing this in mostly the young ladies... 18, 19 and even early 20's and don't have a license. They rely on others to drive them around. I have a teeage daughter who is in no hurry to get her permit.

Are others seeing this?

Yes. Trend seemed to start with the Millennial generation. When I lived in Australia about half the young people had no interest whatsoever (it's also a lot more work to get a licence there.) One girl was completely content to drive to her job sorting macademia nuts on her bicycle at 4 AM.

[Robert]

Not in my house, but then again, I got three boys. I fear for the world with them driving.

[steve-in-kville]

Not in my house, but then again, I got three boys. I fear for the world with them driving.

The boys seem to be more in a hurry to get their license. Not the girls... so far.

I have two female co-workers that are in their mid-20's. They never bothered to get a license. Kinda baffles me.

[RZehr]

This matter of not getting a driver’s license has been reported a few years ago in the news.
I suppose what happens in the world soon happens in the church? Is that the case here?

[steve-in-kville]

This matter of not getting a driver’s license has been reported a few years ago in the news.
I suppose what happens in the world soon happens in the church? Is that the case here?

No idea. I don't have hooks in the super conservative circles like I used to. I would imagine it's not like that, but who knows.

[Josh]

I’ve heard that a lot of young people in plain circles never get driver licences.

[Ken]

This matter of not getting a driver’s license has been reported a few years ago in the news.
I suppose what happens in the world soon happens in the church? Is that the case here?

I don't think it is a church thing so much as a geography and culture thing. Around here in the suburbs I would say there are two separate trends.

1. Cars are becoming increasingly expensive. Not just the car itself, but insurance, fuel, etc. And so increasingly out-of-reach for poorer teens who don't have parents willing to buy them cars. And "junker" cars are harder to fix up on your own because of the complex electronic systems and the way they are made compared to getting an old Chevy Nova or WV Beetle in the 1970s that you could fix up yourself with a socket set, screwdriver, and some cheap parts. There are still the kids who trick out the Honda Civics into race machines and the 4x4 truck crowd. But that is all much more expensive and complicated than fixing up old cars used to be. Also people tend to drive cars longer before getting rid of them meaning there is less constant flow of cheap later model used cars on the market compared to the past when people traded in cars every few years. So poor kids are just less likely to have cars today.

2. A lot of wealthier kids are more coddled by helicopter parents than ever before. Parents who are willing and actually eager to drive them around to stuff that previous generations of parents never would have considered doing. If mom is going to drive you anywhere you want to go, and you can order an Uber in a pinch, what is the big need for your own car or license? It is basically the teenage HS version of parents who don't let their kids roam and play outside in the neighborhood anymore without a formal play date or adult supervision.

And of course there are other factors like social media which means kids don't have to be in the same physical location to socialize.

[ken_sylvania]

I’ve heard that a lot of young people in plain circles never get driver licences.

Yea, we got whole church groups in our area where very few, or none, of even the older folks have driver licenses.

[Neto]

....
1. ... people tend to drive cars longer before getting rid of them ....

Not a "challenge", just a question.

How long is "longer"? My dad was in the automobile industry (Parts service desk in auto dealerships, various makes over the years), and when he saw a car come out that he liked he would remember to watch for a used one four or so years later. Then typically that car was used as the family car for around 6 to 8 years, usually 10 thousand miles after turning over to 100,000 miles, at which time it was replaced in that function by another used car, and became his work car. Then it was driven in that capacity until it was retired to the back pasture. The 62 Chrysler didn't get that far before replacement as the family car, and after a few years I got it, and was the one to 'turn it over'. (It was 15 years old when I got it, where upon I drove it up to Minnesota, for college. But it still made it back for its retirement in the field a couple of years later.)

We live in the Salt Belt, so we don't drive them till they are that old. The bottoms fall out of them before they get up there. Our first minivan only made it to 17 years old, 136,000 miles. The 2000 only hit about 10 years, but I don't have a pasture, and so I sold it, basically for scrap price. Our oldest car is currently a 2009 model, but built in the previous July. Then a 2010. (Well, I'm not counting the first car I bought in my own name, which I still have. It's a 46 Plymouth, a restoration project I started after I bought it in 1980. Then I also have a 49 Plymouth as well, which I bought for parts in 81.)