Reply to Teens Not Wanting Drivers License

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Reply to "Teens Not Wanting Drivers License — Is this a made up trend"

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[quote=Anonymous]This is a real thing for a number of reasons that have been mentioned.

Anxiety plays a huge role, as young people are continually taught that one mistake will ruin their lives, making them unwilling to take on the risk.

Also, not only is there the cost of insurance, but also the cost and logistics of taking driver's ed and having paid behind-the-wheel training play a role. It's easier now that online learning is allowed, but I know that for our family in Maryland, finding two open weeks when our kids could attend in-person classes for three hours per day was not easy.  Kids also need 60 hours of practice behind the wheel.

The introduction of the graduated license system in the early 2000s has significantly reduced the number of teen drivers by increasing anxiety, cost, education, and other barriers to getting a license. In Maryland, kids can't even get a learner's permit until they are 15 years and 9 months and can't get a license until they are 16 years and 6 months. Delaying the legal age for getting a license makes it more difficult for teens to get jobs, decreasing their ability to contribute toward the cost of a vehicle and insurance. For example, all three of my teens have summer birthdays, which means that none of them were even eligible to get their licenses before starting their junior year of high school. That means that any jobs they would have before that time required us to drive them (if not within walking distance).

I think the introduction of the graduated driver's license system should be discussed more in terms of how it contributes to a culture of risk aversion and lack of meaningful experiences for teens. It was viewed as positive reform to reduce accidents caused by teens, but it did have significant consequences.

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