Kids Aren’t Rushing To Get Their Driver’s Licenses

Yep I know some people (male and female) who live in large cities that are pushing the age of 30 and still don’t have their license but can well afford a car. They use public transportation and Ubers to get around.

I'm seeing a lot of this. Plus the prevalence of ride share.

When I was growing up, a lot of the Manhattan guy's and gal's didn't bother to get a drivers license.

Is it true that most people in NYC don't drive?

I bought my first car, a 1949 Chevy, in 1958, for $150, 1 month before my 16th birthday with money I had earned delivering newspapers. My liability insurance was $200/yr. My kids got their licenses as soon as they turned 16. Everyone drives in California.

I have been driving daily since I was 14 and legally since 16. As kids we all owned cars, but with owning a car came a job to support it. Kids today are lazy and useless and don't have a car because no one gave them one and put gas in it.

It's useless to drive in NYC you can walk anywhere faster, and the subway takes you anyplace, combine that with the inability to park anywhere near your destination, but in the outer boroughs, most of us did drive, even though parking was a major hassle.

Driving isn’t as necessary now for kids to have fun. In addition to ride share, the internet is a window to the world we never had. Kids staring at phones will obviously enrage a lot of tusclers but the truth is we needed to drive to get away from our parents. Kids can talk and interact with each other now without using the home phone or leaving the house. Will Uber and a cell phone replace a car permanently? No, but it will lessen the urgency to get a license. And that’s a good thing. Kids are shitty drivers and less of them on the road is good.

I didn't need to get away from my parents, nor did any of my friends. We drove because at 16 we considered ourselves adults and wanted to rely on ourselves and not our parents. I wanted to drive MY car, not my parents; I wanted to spend MY money that I earned, not their money. Cars were a right of passage on the road to manhood and self-reliance.

They had to pressure my granddaughter at age 19 to get her driver's license she's commented on several occasions that she didn't need one as she's a stay-at-home daughter WTF As a boomer my generation couldn't wait to get our license we thrived for the independence and freedom

New York sounds like what LA is becoming. With the train and dive share. Expensive parking. It's slowly becoming less car oriented. In Vegas areas around downtown and mid city are pretty pedestrian friendly now. I think not being so dependent on cars is a good thing. Everyone talks about cars as freedom but not being dependent on them feels more free

Parents driving their children every where is how this started. If they were bussing or walking to school they would want that car to stop needing walk or ride a bus.

Growing up, it was unconscionable that you didn't get your license by your 17th birthday. Of course, we didn't have ridesharing then, or even taxis in my suburb. When I got to college, I was shocked that some of my classmates had never driven a car. Ridesharing and public transportation are great--I'd rather commute into the city via public transportation than a car--but unless you live in a city, you still need a car.

When you drive, you go where you want to go, when you want to and with whom you want to go. Thats called freedom and we lose more and more every day.

I'm seeing taking uber every where becoming a flex now. That's a huge thing when you consider cars have always been a status symbol. Even when I was in high school cars were still a thing. Having a car meant you could go anywhere and weren't dependent on anyone for a rude. That's a huge thing when you're a kid with basically no rights.

I couldn't wait to get my driver's license, I got a temp and went for the test as soon as I could. Getting the money up to buy my first car took another year or so.

Insurance for an 18 year old male is $300 a month in area. Given that I wouldn't want to get a driver's license.

Where do you live that PLPD type insurance [or whatever the lowest level insurance you can get on a beater car] is $300 a month?

Pretty expensive town outside of Providence. Recently moved here this year but previously lived in an even more expensive area outside of Hartford, insurance was the same for both.

When I was talking about the people I know - they live in metro NYC and DC. Places where there is enough mass transportation that a car really isn’t needed - and in the case of NYC owning a car is actually discouraged.

Got my license on my 17th birthday, the first day I was eligible. I had been driving since I was about 14, so it made sense. Luckily I never got pulled over before that.

Wait till fully self driving cars show up and no one will need a license. And if you ask me that is more freedom than being strapped to a car payment and all the other expenses that come with auto ownership. Only thing you’ll miss is the ability to slam a car door and roar off when your acting like a 5 year old.

it's not always true regarding no needing a car in nyc. you'll definitely need one for staten island. also there are parts of brooklyn and queens where a nearby subway station is many miles away, and you would have to take 1-3 buses to get around.

^ If you were from NYC (Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, or Staten Island) you'd know I was referring to Manhattan, if you read my actual post I specifically excluded the outer boroughs. Owning a car in Manhattan is extremely expensive, rental for a parking space in midtown can often cost more per year than many cars, and even in Staten Island busses run frequently in most areas, and it's pretty easy to get around most of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx using the subway and busses in co-ordination, most areas in those boroughs have transfers from the train to a bus and vice versa.

Twentyfive is entirely correct about not needing a car in Manhattan. In most cases, having a car is more of a nuisance (when living In Manhattan). The public transportation system takes you everywhere you need to go. If you are leaving the city - you can use a zip car for a few days. To street park In Manhattan is a pain in the ass - as you need to move the car and find another legal spot. If you use a garage - you will pay a lot of money for it. Depending on where you work, if you are in one of the boroughs, you might be able to exist without a vehicle. When I was a kid, there was a freedom associated with a drivers license - and driving. It’s likely no longer viewed that way. There is less need to drive. There is still the necessity of having a license, but driving may not be such an urgent need. The odd part might occur in a few years when there are very inexperienced 30 somethings driving their kids to school.

Low testosterone in male teenagers

Insurance is expensive af

Would somebody PLEASE make a true self driving car. Could you imagine? A 10 hour road trip, get in your car at night, sleep in a bed the entire while the car travels and you awake at your destination the next morning? That would be amazing. To avoid the airport hassle alone would be worth it to me.

^ If they make a self driving car that's really autonomous, I'm in too !

"you awake at your destination the next morning" More likely, you awake trapped inside a burning wreck with your skin melting off.

Yeah, having to be awake and paying attention defeats the purpose of TESLA driving itself