The number of American 18-year-olds who had a driver’s license went down from 80% in 1983 to 60% in 2021, according to data gathered by the Federal Highway Administration.
The data also found that the number of 16-year-olds with driver’s licenses went down from 46% in 1983 to 25% in 2021.
Why is the number of driving teenagers dropping?
Many teenagers don’t want to drive today: The Washington Post reported that parents have observed that their kids can connect online with their friends, and they believe this has caused this generation of teenagers to be less motivated to drive.
“He spends a lot of time playing video games,” Dawn Johnson told the Post regarding her 15-year-old son. “That’s where his community is. So he doesn’t really need to go anywhere to hang out with people.”
The Boston Globe reported that due to technology and the isolated environment this generation of teenagers has been living in, “teens are doing way less of what used to be the activities that bridged the gap between them and adulthood and autonomy.”
Teens have reported being intimidated by driving: USA Today reported that some teens also feel scared to drive due to anxiety or other reasons.
“There is the question of independence, at least that’s what I’m told all the time,” Celeste Robinson, then a high school senior, said in 2021. “But I’m an anxious person and driving does seem intimidating to me. I’ve tried it and it just feels very hard. And I do love public transportation, so I plan things very much in advance and make sure I can get a train there.”
Is the economy to blame for less teen drivers? The Startup reported that, for many families, there isn’t enough room in the budget to buy an additional vehicle along with the insurance, maintenance and gas for it.
The FHA noted in 2008, “economic factors — employment status, household income and the like — strongly influence the travel behavior of both adults and youth, the latter of which has been harder hit by our current, prolonged economic downturn.”