Why U.S. teens aren't getting their driver's licenses

[Mainecat]

https://theweek.com/travel/1020987/why-us-teens-arent-getting-their-drivers-licenses
Getting a driver's license used to be a sign of burgeoning independence for America's teens. That may not be the case anymore. The Washington Post reports that 16- and 17-year-olds are driving much less than their predecessors. "Unlike previous generations, they don't see cars as a ticket to freedom or a crucial life milestone." And that reluctance to get behind the wheel is lasting into young adulthood: Just 80 percent of adults in their early twenties had their licenses in 2020 — down 10 percent from 1997. The trend has drawn some consternation from their elders. The real reason teens aren't driving, The Atlantic's Tom Nichols writes, is "because they're not growing up, and because you'll drive them anywhere they need to go." Why aren't teens getting on the road? Here's everything you need to know:

[Steve753]

Liberal teens are afraid to leave their parents basement.

[Skidooski]

Helicopter parents coddling these kids   So now we'll have 20 some year olds learning to drive

"because they're not growing up, and because you'll drive them anywhere they need to go."

[Mainecat]

15 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Liberal teens are afraid to leave their parents basement.

I guess the thread is political if your a retard.

[Skidooski]

Just now, Mainecat said:

I guess the thread is political if your a retard.

Are you new here?  

[Kivalo]

My mom lives on a lake and my niece was living there and  bartending at the bar on the lake throughout college. She thought it was perfectly acceptable to ask my 80 year old mother for rides to and from work every day in lieu of getting a driver's license and car. 

I said hell fucking no, you will learn to drive like it or not.

If you grew up in NYC or LA or Boston or something like that I could understand not getting your license, but in the sticks?? I wanted my license the day I turned 16 and not one second later.

[Steve753]

9 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

I guess the thread is political if your a retard.

Most liberals live in the city.

[Highmark]

Never realized it was a thing until my son starting dating a gal from Chicago.  He taught her to drive when they were in college and she didn't get a license until then.

No such thing in much smaller communities.   I think here you only have to live like 1/2 or 3/4 mile from school to get a school permit.   Almost every kid gets one.   They made it a bit tougher over time as now they need to complete drivers ed first.   When I was in HS it was a simple written test after you got your normal permit at 14.

There are limits as to when, where and who can be with them.   

I'd venture a guess that over 75% of kids are legally driving at 15 here.  

Edited February 27, 2023 by Highmark

[01mxz800]

too stupid to pass the written test is my guess

[Mainecat]

35 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Most liberals live in the city.

It’s 50/50 Stevie

[Skidooski]

3 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

It’s 50/50 Stevie

 

Chart of the Week: The most liberal and conservative big cities

BY DREW DESILVER

 

Big cities in the U.S. tend toward the liberal side of the political spectrum, even when they’re within conservative states (residents of Austin sometimes joke that their city is “an island surrounded by Texas”). But which cities are more liberal — or conservative — than their reputations?

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/08/08/chart-of-the-week-the-most-liberal-and-conservative-big-cities/

 

[Steve753]

Just now, Skidooski said:

 

Chart of the Week: The most liberal and conservative big cities

BY DREW DESILVER

 

Big cities in the U.S. tend toward the liberal side of the political spectrum, even when they’re within conservative states (residents of Austin sometimes joke that their city is “an island surrounded by Texas”). But which cities are more liberal — or conservative — than their reputations?

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/08/08/chart-of-the-week-the-most-liberal-and-conservative-big-cities/

 

Hardly 50/50.

[Skidooski]

Just now, Steve753 said:

Hardly 50/50.

Not even close   

[Bontz]

Thankfully my kids don't fall into the category of not getting their license.  Both did, on their 16th birthday, and haven't looked back.  They drive wherever they need to, and have become very independent ... well, minus car issues that need fixing.  If I had a kid who was over 16 and asking me to drive them wherever they wanted to go .... F that.  Get walking, grab a bike, or find a job to pay for your Uber expense.

[Jerry 976]

Why drive or own a vehicle, save your money for other things, let someone else do the driving for you, they own the vehicle, they pay the insurance, they pay for the registration, they pay for the maintenance and up keep and everything else that goes with owning a vehicle......... 

 

[Mainecat]

3 hours ago, Steve753 said:

Hardly 50/50.

The only people who live in big cities are the poor who are subsidized and the very wealthy. The middle class can’t afford to live in the big cities.

[Skidooski]

10 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

The only people who live in big cities are the poor who are subsidized and the very wealthy. The middle class can’t afford to live in the big cities.

Jesus...he said Liberals...you said no it's 50/50 and when that turned out to be a lie you switched to poor / wealthy instead of Liberal / Conservative. Squirm ya worm

[Rod]

4 hours ago, Kivalo said:

My mom lives on a lake and my niece was living there and  bartending at the bar on the lake throughout college. She thought it was perfectly acceptable to ask my 80 year old mother for rides to and from work every day in lieu of getting a driver's license and car. 

I said hell fucking no, you will learn to drive like it or not.

If you grew up in NYC or LA or Boston or something like that I could understand not getting your license, but in the sticks?? I wanted my license the day I turned 16 and not one second later.

Same. Getting my licence was the only thing I could think about back then 

wife has a friend that’s 40 and she’s never had a drivers licence. Like wtf 

[Frostynuts]

4 hours ago, 01mxz800 said:

too stupid to pass the written test is my guess

And that is probably an open book test. Just cann,t seem to put the phone down long enough to concentrate on anything else.

[Angry ginger]

fuck my kids wanted their license as soon as possible.  if not for sports my sons would have been the week after his 16th.  my daughter was 15 days after hers

[Not greg b]

What if I told you, you don’t need a license to drive anything?

[SSFB]

I notice a lot less kids out and about when I am back in the town where I grew up.

Kids simply aren’t as interested in driving anymore and there’s less autonomy. 

[Kivalo]

Toouch time spent driving is time they could have spent on tiktok

[Not greg b]

31 minutes ago, SSFB said:

I notice a lot less kids out and about when I am back in the town where I grew up.

Kids simply aren’t as interested in driving anymore and there’s less autonomy. 

They are out all the time in down town Minneapolis driving around. Most of the time it is a car they borrowed with a usb cord and they aren’t old enough to get a driver’s license. 

[f7ben]

My daughter started drivers training tonight. She’ll get her license as soon as she can. She’s already had a job for 6 months and while she can only work 3-4 days a month she’s saved almost every penny. I’ll buy her first car and she can pay her insurance.