Fewer teens becoming licensed drivers

[peejay 327]

Fewer teens get behind the wheel

Higher costs of driver's ed and insurance feed the trend, experts say

By MARY M. CHAPMAN and MICHELINE MAYNARD

New York Times

DETROIT — For generations, driver's licenses have been a ticket to freedom for America's 16-year-olds, prompting many to line up at motor vehicle offices the day they were eligible to apply.

No longer. In the last decade, the proportion of 16-year-olds nationwide who hold driver's licenses has dropped from nearly half to less than one-third, according to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration.

Reasons vary, including tighter state laws governing when teenagers can drive, higher insurance costs and a shift from school-run driver education to expensive private driving academies.

To that mix, experts also add parents who are willing to chauffeur their children to activities, and pastimes like surfing the Web that keep them indoors and glued to computers.

Perplexing figures

The national rate of licensed 16-year-olds dropped to 29.8 percent in 2006 from 43.8 percent in 1998, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

The falling rate of teenage drivers is perplexing to Michael Marsden, an expert on automotive culture and dean of St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis.

"It's a big change in a major American ritual of driving as early as possible," Marsden said.

The way students learn has undergone a major change, too. Twenty-five years ago, most teenagers took driver's education from their local school. But the number of school systems offering the program has plummeted to about 20 percent today, from 90 percent in the 1980s, said Allen R. Robinson, chief executive of the American Driver and Traffic Education Association.

"High schools are out of the business because of the cost," said Henning Mortensen, owner of Bond Driving School in Sacramento, one option for local teenagers.

Commercial driving academies have stepped in to fill the gap. Unlike high schools, which offered driver's education as a regular class or for a modest fee during the summer, driving schools charge higher rates. Mortensen, who has been in business since 1990, said his average program runs about $400.

Insurance costs are also rising. Where parents used to be able to add their young drivers to their policies for a nominal charge, it now costs 80 percent and 100 percent more to add a 16-year-old to a family's auto policy, said Raleigh Floyd, a spokesman for Allstate Corp., in Northbrook, Ill.

The highest rate is charged if the teenager owns a vehicle, he said.

Worried for kids' safety

Finally, some parents just do not like the idea of their children driving and are not encouraging lessons, said Naomi Drew, author of Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids, which studied family lifestyles.

"The roads are angrier these days," she said. "Parents are worried for their children's safety."

One such parent is Teresa Sheffer, of Bethlehem, Ga. Her daughter, Kelsey, has had a permit for two years, but is not yet fully licensed because of her mom's concern for her safety.

Sheffer, a pediatric nurse, even paid a police officer to drive with Kelsey to previous accident sites and graphically explain what had happened.

"This is in hope of instilling an element of fear," Sheffer said.

"Cars are lethal weapons, and I want to make sure she has the experience she needs, and knows what can happen when you don't pay attention."

Kelsey, who will turn 17 in June, said she had lost the motivation to pursue her full license. For now, her mother is happy to shuttle her to swimming and cheerleader practice.

"I'm disappointed, but if I had my license, Mom probably wouldn't let me drive anyway," Kelsey said. "But even if I did, I'd have to drive our minivan." That prospect, she said, "is just totally not cool."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5566582.html

[Alex+R 0]

Fits my family. My brother has not quite made the leap to "driver" yet and he's about 16 and a half. The "To that mix, experts also add parents who are willing to chauffeur their children to activities" part is probably the most relevant. He also has older friends who pick him up a lot.

Suits me just fine. I don't want my space-cadet little brother hitting a tree because he was focused on trying to make his passenger laugh instead of on watching the road.

[PlatyPius 5]

I will not be a chauffeur. Parents who are willing to do that are just further spoiling this generation of kids and turning them (even more) into chopf##ks.

Jordan can walk or ride his bike if he wants to go somewhere. There ain't no "Taxi" sign on any of our vehicles.

[eau_xplain 2]

I've always been available to drive my son wherever he needed to go, whether school or social activities. However, we have not kept him from earning his driver's license. He turned 16 in January and he now has a limited driver's license (can drive alone from 5am to 9pm) but he has not really driven alone much yet. They're still working on fixing the car that will become "his" car to drive. Of course, he can't wait to start. We also sat him down and came up with a driving contract based on the premise that he will make sure to observe safe driving habits and maintain safe driving conditions while he is still gaining experience driving on his own.

There are a lot of 16 year olds here who already have their DLs because our state education system still provides Driver's Ed classes in high school.

Edited February 25, 2008 by eau_xplain

[Amby 490]

There is no public transport here so it would be hard to get around without being able to drive here.

[peejay 327]

I was 15 years old when I became eligible to take driver's ed at my high school. At 15 years old we could drive with a learner's permit with a licensed adult in the car. I got my unrestricted license during summer break at 16 years old after finishing driver's ed. However, I was kept on a short leash because I had to borrow my parent's car and had to have a compelling reason to weasel the keys out of them.

I finally got my own car as an 17 year old senior in high school. My aunt bought a new car and sold her old 1963 Chevy Impala to me for $100. It had 110,000 miles on it and was on it's last leg. I was constantly under the hood and under the car repairing the thing because it broke down frequently. I self taught myself to be a half-assed shade tree mechanic because I couldn't afford to pay someone to fix it. Those old 1960's cars were not as durable and maintenance free as the cars are now.

Houston is definitely a car town, but I still use public transportation or ride my bicycle when it is practical. However, I couldn't have lived the life I have had without having my own vehicle for 35+ years. I'll drive until I'm too old to get my license renewed (or I die first).

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I don't want my space-cadet little brother hitting a tree because he was focused on trying to make his passenger laugh instead of on watching the road.