Why do kids seem to be driving later than they used to "back in the day"?

[Anonymous]

Adding my son to insurance was so expensive I gave him a large Uber budget. But senior year he really wanted to drive.

[Anonymous]

Well in VA at least kids aren't supposed to drive with their friends until 18 (except to work and school) so that kind of kills the fun of getting it at 16. Plus all the other reasons mentioned. There's just a lot more to do than drive around aimlessly (which was the main reason I got mine as a midwestern teen in the 1990s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem is too many teens are sitting in the back seats of cars. I made my kids start sitting in the front seat at 12. I point out things to watch out for, driving tips, I make them navigate at times, etc. At 14 1/2 we started going to empty driving lots a few weekends and they start driving at really low speeds and practice parking. By 15 1/2 they have no problem practicing driving on the streets with us.

Same here.

[Anonymous]

Cars are expensive, driving can be dangerous. If you grow up in a city with decent public transportation, you can actually be more independent as a young person without a car than with -- pretty much everywhere you need to go can be reached via metro or bus, and the occasional cab is still cheaper than a car plus insurance. Even if you are in the suburbs, many kids figure out who to get around without a car.

I am another person who didn't get my license at 16 back in the 90s, even though most people did. It was anxiety for me, too, but my anxiety was directly related to the fact that my parents were TERRIBLE driving instructors and made me not only afraid of getting in an accident, but afraid of literally every aspect of driving. They were hypercritical and would yell at me for grinding the gears on the stick shift (which any new driver would do, it takes practice to get it right) or basically anything I did that wasn't perfect yet. It was awful. I finally asked them to pay for drivers ed classes and that's how I learned to drive and it was a million times better. But I actually am still an anxious driver because of that early experience and only do it if I have to.

[Anonymous]

I think 18 is more appropriate for most people, honestly. I started driving at 16, but grew up in a small town in Minnesota and many of my classmates started driving even earlier because they worked on farms. Driving in a city requires a more advanced skill set as there is less time and space to correct errors so for those in more populated areas, it's safer for everyone if kids are older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uber. Amazon Prime. Doordash. FaceTime. Online games.

Etc

Add to that parents willing to drive/carpool a bunch of kids.

[Anonymous]

I've taken the approach that if you want to drive, we will pay for all classes and insurance but you need to figure out and manage the process. The teen needs to do the footwork to make it happen in other words. To my mind, a kid who can't read the DMV website and figure out what needs to happen (and then make it happen) isn't mature enough to handle a car. I know other parents who have taken the same approach and sometimes the kids self-elect to delay because guess what, it's a hassle.

I frankly think our generation had it too easy with driving. It SHOULD be hard to get a license and kids should have skin in the game. It SHOULD be work to get access to a car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've taken the approach that if you want to drive, we will pay for all classes and insurance but you need to figure out and manage the process. The teen needs to do the footwork to make it happen in other words. To my mind, a kid who can't read the DMV website and figure out what needs to happen (and then make it happen) isn't mature enough to handle a car. I know other parents who have taken the same approach and sometimes the kids self-elect to delay because guess what, it's a hassle.

I frankly think our generation had it too easy with driving. It SHOULD be hard to get a license and kids should have skin in the game. It SHOULD be work to get access to a car.

+1

I think driving used to be viewed as a rite of passage, something that would just happen. It probably contributed to our over reliance on cars as a culture, which is a problem it itself.

I found that NOT having a drivers license in high school was good for me in a lot of ways. My parents didn't drive me anywhere (and I would not have wanted them to anyway) so I either had to learn to get around without a car or make friends who had cars. I did both, and I'm still a big walker and resourceful about transportation. I also learned what it means to rely on a friend for transportation, and how you have to take care of friendships and not take advantage of people -- you need to be flexible, say thank you, offer to help them in other ways so you're not just taking advantage. I eventually learned to drive but I'd argue the other stuff was more useful in terms of life skills.

[Anonymous]

my thoughts are it is because they no longer teach driver’s ed in school. When I was in school DE was a course that everybody took in their sophomore year of high school. And then you got your license. Nowadays there is no more school sponsored driver’s Ed so you have to go to iDrive Smart or Greg’s driving school, which cost money. If you don’t have the finances to do that, it’s just is not going to happen.

[Anonymous]

I got my license in DC at 16 and definitely should NOT have been on the road. I also was the "licensed driver" at that age so that my 15 y.o friends with permits could drive without another adult in the car. The Metro closed at 10pm. I am very happy jurisdictions are making it more difficult to license kids and believe ALL adults should be retested/tested more thoroughly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think 18 is more appropriate for most people, honestly. I started driving at 16, but grew up in a small town in Minnesota and many of my classmates started driving even earlier because they worked on farms. Driving in a city requires a more advanced skill set as there is less time and space to correct errors so for those in more populated areas, it's safer for everyone if kids are older.

I would rather my teen drive for a couple of years in my neighborhood and with my guidance, than have them try to navigate beginning college and learning to drive at the same time, without my assistance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 18 is more appropriate for most people, honestly. I started driving at 16, but grew up in a small town in Minnesota and many of my classmates started driving even earlier because they worked on farms. Driving in a city requires a more advanced skill set as there is less time and space to correct errors so for those in more populated areas, it's safer for everyone if kids are older.

I would rather my teen drive for a couple of years in my neighborhood and with my guidance, than have them try to navigate beginning college and learning to drive at the same time, without my assistance.

Kids don’t bring cars to college for the most part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 15 year old just got her learner's permit. I see the same issue with the anxiety. She was anxious before that test, anxious before the first parking lot driving lesson. I definitely didn't want to postpone it because I don't think it will make her anxiety go away. It definitely worked - she's been less anxious on future parking lot driving lessons after she got the first one under her belt. Part of the reason I didn't want her to wait - it's just easier to get it down with.

Maybe us parents are just super cool these days and our kids aren't embarrassed to be driven by us. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I believe that is the correct answer. Us parents are just super cool.

I think it's more a reflection of the parents' anxiety than the teens'. A lot of parents don't have the temperament to be in the car with a new driver and teach like they used to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think 18 is more appropriate for most people, honestly. I started driving at 16, but grew up in a small town in Minnesota and many of my classmates started driving even earlier because they worked on farms. Driving in a city requires a more advanced skill set as there is less time and space to correct errors so for those in more populated areas, it's safer for everyone if kids are older.

I would rather my teen drive for a couple of years in my neighborhood and with my guidance, than have them try to navigate beginning college and learning to drive at the same time, without my assistance.

Kids don’t bring cars to college for the most part.

That's the point though. There's a lot of other stuff going on at age 18 (college, living on their own, new location) to add on learning to drive.

[Anonymous]

OP it's funny to hear you say that because I grew up in NY where you have to be 17 to get a license so we didn't even start driver's ed til 16. I'm always floored at how young kids are able to get a learner's permit here and in other states. My friend in Michigan has a 14 year old high school freshman (granted, old for his age, about to turn 15) who is already driving with a permit! Yikes! I'd rather they wait a bit longer for the judgment to kick in.