What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Teens not wanting a license trend... why? (1 Viewer)

belljr

Footballguy
Curious if this is a regional thing or age thing - Idk.... I've read a bunch of different articles on it and "reasons".

Now its not all teens but I know a good many that put off getting their license, or flat out don't get one right away.

While living in a city this would make sense but i Live in the suburbs of NJ where a car is a bit of a necessity.

Is it simply tech that they stay connected without having to "go anywhere?"

Even outside the social aspect when my kid got her license she could driver herself to school/practice once we were able to get her a vehicle but she would use ours for errand and practices.

I just don't get it.......

Trying to not be old man yelling at clouds but is our area "late for teens and driving?"
 
Last edited:
It's happening in our area too. My son didn't want to drive and we just signed him up for the required lessons, tests, etc. No way were we letting him put it off. He has since thanked us for making him do it as he realized how much better his life was with that freedom.

But most of his friends/classmates have put it off for years. Some are 18 or 19 and still haven't gone through any of the training. It's crazy to me.
 
My daughter (a few months short of 14) has no plans to drive right when she's able. She says she'd rather have an e-bike. Maybe that sentiment will change in a year or so.
 
noticed it as well. Mine got hers right away but a lot of friends waited, almost a year or more. I remember camping out at the DMV when I was finally old enough.
Yep I "forced" her but after she got comfortable it became no big deal. She had a permit for almost 10 months and got her license on her birthday (17 here).

Proud dad moment the instructor wrote "good parking" on the notes.
 
My daughter (a few months short of 14) has no plans to drive right when she's able. She says she'd rather have an e-bike. Maybe that sentiment will change in a year or so.
I would recommend just signing her up. It doesn't hurt anything and will make your life a lot easier (as far as taxi duties).
 
My daughter (a few months short of 14) has no plans to drive right when she's able. She says she'd rather have an e-bike. Maybe that sentiment will change in a year or so.
Yeah, my daughter didn't care about driving at 15 either; I was shocked. Come 17, her mind did a complete 180.
 
I think it's a mixed bag. Both my kids wanted to drive, but plenty of their friends did not. It was a necessity for us with so many sports.

It's a lot more dangerous and difficult to drive these days. The population has tripled since I was 16. The roads have not kept up with that population growth. So there more traffic and a lot more crazies. Cars have so much built in protection a lot of drivers are insane.

And like you say easier to stay in touch with friends via tech.

I also think they have 3 times more homework. My kids were doing HS homework until midnight most nights. They rarely had time to just relax and hang out. So there's less need for a car due to lack of free time.

I don't mind it. The accident rate for kids under 20 (and those over 80) is like 3.5x everyone else. Some aren't ready to be out there, especially with others in the car and phones distracting them.
 
One of mine dragged her feet a little until it became a necessity for her to work her preferred summer jobs. Many of her peers do not drive.

Dunno, I think it’s a thing here too though.. Higher financial barriers to entry? Less “need”? Covid/lockdown/anxiety?
 
She had a permit for almost 10 months and got her license on her birthday (17 here).
My son got screwed and failed his first test. He was on the way back to the DMV with no deductions going down the 4-lane main road in the middle of town (not divided) and an ambulance was going on the other side with lights/siren. He was in the left lane with a car on his bumper so he had no where to move over to. He was kind of stuck due to the traffic. He slowed but didn't move over so the instructor gave him an auto fail. They said he was a great driver but not pulling over for an emergency vehicle was an auto fail otherwise he would have passed easily. He asked the instructor what he could have done and they said he should have slowed to a stop or let the car on his bumper pass so he could move over. Sounded dangerous to me. Just kind of a quirk. I think the guy should have still passed him since he did what was safe for the situation. Oh well. water under the bridge..haha
 
I've noticed it for the last 10 years or so.

Like everything else, it's social media. Teens can have a "social life" without leaving their rooms.

For us old farts, if we wanted to connect with our friends, we had to drive (and go to the local hangout spot to see where this weekend's house party was).
 
Do these kids without licenses just take the bus to school? That would motivate me real quickly to get a license. This is presuming we're talking about kids that would have their own car. Otherwise, I could see the lack of urgency.
 
Do these kids without licenses just take the bus to school? That would motivate me real quickly to get a license. This is presuming we're talking about kids that would have their own car. Otherwise, I could see the lack of urgency.
It's 50/50 here. Bus vs rides
 
Do these kids without licenses just take the bus to school? That would motivate me real quickly to get a license. This is presuming we're talking about kids that would have their own car. Otherwise, I could see the lack of urgency.
My kids' middle school is fairly close. My son just rides his bike. My daughter (I won't call her lazy because she plays every sport out there) asks me to drive her and pick her up (usually just in our neighborhood, but closer to campus). Her basketball and volleyball teams don't get bussed anywhere. I think that's a high school only thing out here.

Well, next year when she goes to high school, she is going to HAVE to have an e-bike or get rides to/from, 'cuz it's too far to walk or even just ride a normal bike.

And of course there's the shuttling her around for club volleyball too.
 
Do these kids without licenses just take the bus to school? That would motivate me real quickly to get a license. This is presuming we're talking about kids that would have their own car. Otherwise, I could see the lack of urgency.
My kids' middle school is fairly close. My son just rides his bike. My daughter (I won't call her lazy because she plays every sport out there) asks me to drive her and pick her up (usually just in our neighborhood, but closer to campus). Her basketball and volleyball teams don't get bussed anywhere. I think that's a high school only thing out here.

Well, next year when she goes to high school, she is going to HAVE to have an e-bike or get rides to/from, 'cuz it's too far to walk or even just ride a normal bike.

And of course there's the shuttling her around for club volleyball too.
Must be a warm climate thing which makes more sense. Couldn't imagine biking around at 7am in the dead of winter where its cold.
 
Do these kids without licenses just take the bus to school? That would motivate me real quickly to get a license. This is presuming we're talking about kids that would have their own car. Otherwise, I could see the lack of urgency.
My kids' middle school is fairly close. My son just rides his bike. My daughter (I won't call her lazy because she plays every sport out there) asks me to drive her and pick her up (usually just in our neighborhood, but closer to campus). Her basketball and volleyball teams don't get bussed anywhere. I think that's a high school only thing out here.

Well, next year when she goes to high school, she is going to HAVE to have an e-bike or get rides to/from, 'cuz it's too far to walk or even just ride a normal bike.

And of course there's the shuttling her around for club volleyball too.
Must be a warm climate thing which makes more sense. Couldn't imagine biking around at 7am in the dead of winter where its cold.
Yeah, SoCal. Although it's been pretty chilly for my son's rides. Like.. 50? That is cold for coastal SoCal :shades:
 
Same phenomenon here. I think it’s a combo of being connected via devices + parents enabling non-drivers, by acting as chaffeurs.

I don’t think driving is more dangerous though.

Regardless, less young drivers on the road is probably a good thing. It won’t be long until autonomous vehicles my driving obsolete anyway.
 
My niece didn’t get hers until her mid 20s

My son turns 16 in less than 2 weeks, taking his road test on Sunday. He’s definitely excited. I’d guess it’s about 50/50 in his friends group of kids 16+ that have theirs
 
Same issue here in north Dallas suburbs. My older 2 (24 and 26 YO) got their licenses when they turned 16. My younger 2 (16 and 20 YO) still don't have theirs.

My 16 YO took lessons and completed the classroom and practicum and turned 16 in June. Still has 15 hours left on the practice driving with the parentals and I have to basically force him out to drive. I am hoping to get the hours done by the end of January.

I don't know what I'm going to do with the 20 YO. Admittedly we have some research to do as she is pushing to move things along, but the state of TX doesn't require any drivers ed courses or a permit over the age of 18 to get a license. I have no idea how insurance will handle it all. How do I take her practice driving if she doesn't have a permit, I ask you! Will insurance cover us if she gets in an accident while practicing before getting a license? But how can she pass a road test to get a license if she hasn't practiced?

What the heck is wrong with these kids?
 
Not a terrible tradeoff for parents. Save a bunch of money on the car purchase and insurance as well as gaining some peace of mind (if you're the worrying type) in exchange for some of your time. My daughter is a financial blackhole so what's another 10k.
 
My daughter (a few months short of 14) has no plans to drive right when she's able. She says she'd rather have an e-bike. Maybe that sentiment will change in a year or so.

If you do go the e-bike/scooter route, make sure she wears a helmet always - one of my sons good friends was in the ER yesterday and is extremely lucky to even be alive after he lost control of the e-bike he was on and crashed. Major gash requiring internal stitches in the thigh with a lot of blood loss, head injury requiring staples, concussion and narrowly escaped a major knee injury. He was not wearing a helmet. The ER staff was saying that injuries from e-bikes/scooters are quickly becoming one of the most common reasons for ER visits.

My son's orthopedic surgeon told us his practice is almost solely 3 things - girls injured in soccer, boys in football and injuries from kids riding e-bikes/scooters.

I am far from one to say absolutely don't allow it as that would be me being hypocritical as I think they have good uses - my 17 year old does have an e-mountain bike after all and it helps with the climbs, but from personal experience I would urge major caution around it.
 
Do these kids without licenses just take the bus to school? That would motivate me real quickly to get a license. This is presuming we're talking about kids that would have their own car. Otherwise, I could see the lack of urgency.
My kids' middle school is fairly close. My son just rides his bike. My daughter (I won't call her lazy because she plays every sport out there) asks me to drive her and pick her up (usually just in our neighborhood, but closer to campus). Her basketball and volleyball teams don't get bussed anywhere. I think that's a high school only thing out here.

Well, next year when she goes to high school, she is going to HAVE to have an e-bike or get rides to/from, 'cuz it's too far to walk or even just ride a normal bike.

And of course there's the shuttling her around for club volleyball too.
Don't count on it. School sports are not funded well, especially for transportation costs, so for many schools, usually only a couple sports actually bus to/from games, for the others, it's on the parents or kids to get themselves to games or hope that they are extremely good at fundraising as the busses are not cheap.
 
All my kids got theirs when they turned 16, in fact my son was not happy when he found out his 16th birthday falls on a Saturday when the DMV is closed, missed out on 2 days of driving.
 
No first hand knowledge here (as I dont have kids and try to avoid them) but I'm guessing this is some combo of tech/social media and "anxiety".

Plus parents willing/able to drive them around everywhere.

And yeah....this probably wont be an issue in another 10-15 years.
 
My daughter (a few months short of 14) has no plans to drive right when she's able. She says she'd rather have an e-bike. Maybe that sentiment will change in a year or so.

If you do go the e-bike/scooter route, make sure she wears a helmet always - one of my sons good friends was in the ER yesterday and is extremely lucky to even be alive after he lost control of the e-bike he was on and crashed. Major gash requiring internal stitches in the thigh with a lot of blood loss, head injury requiring staples, concussion and narrowly escaped a major knee injury. He was not wearing a helmet. The ER staff was saying that injuries from e-bikes/scooters are quickly becoming one of the most common reasons for ER visits.

My son's orthopedic surgeon told us his practice is almost solely 3 things - girls injured in soccer, boys in football and injuries from kids riding e-bikes/scooters.

I am far from one to say absolutely don't allow it as that would be me being hypocritical as I think they have good uses - my 17 year old does have an e-mountain bike after all and it helps with the climbs, but from personal experience I would urge major caution around it.
She rides shotgun on e-bikes with friends right now and I told her if I ever saw her without a helmet that there'd be hell to pay.
 
If true, this is definitely different that my experience when I turned 16. I got perhaps the second most angry with my mom that I've ever been. I qualified for some early opportunity to get my license (due to good grades and taking driver's ed) and my mom told me she would sign off if I completed some task. I completed said task and my mom backed out on her promise, stating that she didn't think I'd actually get said task completed and she didn't want me to be driving just yet. I was so mad.
 
Last edited:
My daughter's friends eventually got driver's licenses, but didn't get cars because they didn't want to get jobs and pay for gas, insurance, etc. My daughter got her license immediately, but knew she was getting a car right away because both her mom (my ex-wife) and I work full time and her driving made things much simpler for all of us.

My daughter loves driving and having a car, but now she lives in NYC and has no need to drive there. If she gets an internship in LA she will need a car again.
 
If true, this is definitely different that my experience when I turned 16. I got perhaps the second most angry with my mom. I qualified for some early opportunity to get my license (due to good grades and taking driver's ed) and my mom told me she would sign off if I completed some task. I completed said task and my mom backed out on her promise, stating that she didn't think I'd actually get said task completed and she didn't want me to be driving just yet. I was so mad.
Must be why you are a lawyer. You had a contract and your mom violated and now you will fight for the law!
 
Very common where we are to have non driving teens. Some parents offer kids 75c on the dollar just on the insurance as cash.

I would pay my kid $500 a month to not drive and still be making out like crazy. Insurance is 250-400 for a teen here. Depreciation and gas is even more.
My daughter waited 9 months and wants to surrender her license for college.
 
Also, I'm not sure what the laws are in other states, but here kids are supposed to sit in the back seat until they are 13. This has created a generation of kids who have no idea where they are without the map on their phone. I once asked my daughter when she was about 12 if she would be able to find her way to school (about 5 miles away) if she had to walk or ride a bike, and she admitted that she probably would get there eventually but she wasn't positive.
 
My daughter's friends eventually got driver's licenses, but didn't get cars because they didn't want to get jobs and pay for gas, insurance, etc. My daughter got her license immediately, but knew she was getting a car right away because both her mom (my ex-wife) and I work full time and her driving made things much simpler for all of us.

My daughter loves driving and having a car, but now she lives in NYC and has no need to drive there. If she gets an internship in LA she will need a car again.

You can't in theory have a license without insurance in Texas. Though nobody pays attention to that. Hell even having insurance is a thing
 
I don't mind it. The accident rate for kids under 20 (and those over 80) is like 3.5x everyone else. Some aren't ready to be out there, especially with others in the car and phones distracting them.

Here in California, drivers under 17 are not allowed to have minors as passengers in the car without an adult in there for essentially this very reason - only exception is for siblings, and even that has limitations on what is allowed. Generally speaking you won't get pulled over for just this, but it's something that a teen driver an be cited for. I know of several kids that were cited for this - had to have parents come pick them up. I haven't looked up stats to see if this has had any real effect on accident rates, but in principle I do like the intent of the law to help keep newer drivers as distraction free as possible.
 
My daughter's friends eventually got driver's licenses, but didn't get cars because they didn't want to get jobs and pay for gas, insurance, etc. My daughter got her license immediately, but knew she was getting a car right away because both her mom (my ex-wife) and I work full time and her driving made things much simpler for all of us.

My daughter loves driving and having a car, but now she lives in NYC and has no need to drive there. If she gets an internship in LA she will need a car again.

You can't in theory have a license without insurance in Texas. Though nobody pays attention to that. Hell even having insurance is a thing
Yeah, I like our system better. Anyone that drives my car with a valid license is insured, whether they have their own insurance or not. That's the way standard auto policies are written. Seems dumb for a state to have laws that differ from the insurance market.
 
I don't mind it. The accident rate for kids under 20 (and those over 80) is like 3.5x everyone else. Some aren't ready to be out there, especially with others in the car and phones distracting them.

Here in California, drivers under 17 are not allowed to have minors as passengers in the car without an adult in there for essentially this very reason - only exception is for siblings, and even that has limitations on what is allowed. Generally speaking you won't get pulled over for just this, but it's something that a teen driver an be cited for. I know of several kids that were cited for this - had to have parents come pick them up. I haven't looked up stats to see if this has had any real effect on accident rates, but in principle I do like the intent of the law to help keep newer drivers as distraction free as possible.
Washington is the same. Under 17 no unrelated minors as passengers, and they can't drive after 1 a.m. Neither is typically enforced as a stand-alone violation.
 
My daughter's friends eventually got driver's licenses, but didn't get cars because they didn't want to get jobs and pay for gas, insurance, etc. My daughter got her license immediately, but knew she was getting a car right away because both her mom (my ex-wife) and I work full time and her driving made things much simpler for all of us.

My daughter loves driving and having a car, but now she lives in NYC and has no need to drive there. If she gets an internship in LA she will need a car again.

You can't in theory have a license without insurance in Texas. Though nobody pays attention to that. Hell even having insurance is a thing
Yeah, I like our system better. Anyone that drives my car with a valid license is insured, whether they have their own insurance or not. That's the way standard auto policies are written. Seems dumb for a state to have laws that differ from the insurance market.
I think that is correct, but if she comes home and tries to drive my car and wrecks it insurance can deny her if not specifically on the policy.
 
ETA ... I was driving at age 15 in Virginia. Heck age 13 in Georgia on local roads when I spent summers at our family's place there. There is a big difference between driving in a city of 5M people and an entire county of 1500 people total. The sheriff would wave to me as I drove by at age 13. With a couple shotguns on the gun rack of the truck. The US is not a uniform place. Most of it is desolate or sparsely populated. Driving is totally different depending on locale.
 
My daughter's friends eventually got driver's licenses, but didn't get cars because they didn't want to get jobs and pay for gas, insurance, etc. My daughter got her license immediately, but knew she was getting a car right away because both her mom (my ex-wife) and I work full time and her driving made things much simpler for all of us.

My daughter loves driving and having a car, but now she lives in NYC and has no need to drive there. If she gets an internship in LA she will need a car again.

You can't in theory have a license without insurance in Texas. Though nobody pays attention to that. Hell even having insurance is a thing
Yeah, I like our system better. Anyone that drives my car with a valid license is insured, whether they have their own insurance or not. That's the way standard auto policies are written. Seems dumb for a state to have laws that differ from the insurance market.
I think that is correct, but if she comes home and tries to drive my car and wrecks it insurance can deny her if not specifically on the policy.
odd. also maybe not true. I rented a car and let someone else drive it, who totaled it. my insurance tried to deny the claim, but my policy (and all standard ISO policies) cover any vehicle in your "custody or control." Giving permission to someone else to drive a car is still in your "custody or control," so I ended up having it covered.
 
My 14 year old daughter already talks about getting her license and driving. Guess I’m lucky, because I already look forward to not having to drive her and her brother to school and pick them up every day……..no bus where I live.
 
No first hand knowledge here (as I dont have kids and try to avoid them) but I'm guessing this is some combo of tech/social media and "anxiety".

Plus parents willing/able to drive them around everywhere.

And yeah....this probably wont be an issue in another 10-15 years.
Why the quotes around anxiety?

If they’re nervous about driving, that’s actual anxiety.
 
Very common where we are to have non driving teens. Some parents offer kids 75c on the dollar just on the insurance as cash.

I would pay my kid $500 a month to not drive and still be making out like crazy. Insurance is 250-400 for a teen here. Depreciation and gas is even more.
My daughter waited 9 months and wants to surrender her license for college.
My parents gave me a used car, and paid insurance at age 16.

I promptly totaled said vehicle, waiting nearly a year until dad purchased a replacement with the insurance pay-out.

Even though the accident wasn’t my fault (t boned when someone ran a red light), I was responsible for my insurance cost therafter.

In retrospect, a good lesson. I can’t imagine the reverse scenario, where a parent pays their child not to drive.
 
I don't mind it. The accident rate for kids under 20 (and those over 80) is like 3.5x everyone else. Some aren't ready to be out there, especially with others in the car and phones distracting them.

Here in California, drivers under 17 are not allowed to have minors as passengers in the car without an adult in there for essentially this very reason - only exception is for siblings, and even that has limitations on what is allowed. Generally speaking you won't get pulled over for just this, but it's something that a teen driver an be cited for. I know of several kids that were cited for this - had to have parents come pick them up. I haven't looked up stats to see if this has had any real effect on accident rates, but in principle I do like the intent of the law to help keep newer drivers as distraction free as possible.
Washington is the same. Under 17 no unrelated minors as passengers, and they can't drive after 1 a.m. Neither is typically enforced as a stand-alone violation.
I believe it is 11PM here in California.
 
No first hand knowledge here (as I dont have kids and try to avoid them) but I'm guessing this is some combo of tech/social media and "anxiety".

Plus parents willing/able to drive them around everywhere.

And yeah....this probably wont be an issue in another 10-15 years.
Why the quotes around anxiety?

If they’re nervous about driving, that’s actual anxiety.

Well yeah. I think most kids are at least a little nervous about getting behind the wheel by themselves. I know I was (I had to be prodded to practice after getting my permit)

But today, basically any sort of nerves/lack of comfort/whatever basically gets treated as some crippling, clinical mental health concern. Not saying some of that isn't real (or that the "get over it" mindset of 10/20/40 years ago wasn't harmful in some cases) but a lot of it is WAY overblown and often taken advantage of. (or in this case, used as an excuse to not do something)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top