Fewer ‘Generation Z’ adults are bothering to get a driver’s license and for reasons that may be hard for licensed drivers to understand.
Granted, driving can be filled with angst and worry, but the freedom it affords individuals is unmatched. Nevertheless, according to a report in the Washington Post, fewer Gen Z adults are getting them because of anxiety and fear. The demographic is generally considered to be those born between 1996 and 2012.
“In 1997, 43% of those age 16 had driver’s licenses, and 62% of 17-year-olds had driver’s licenses. But in 2020, those marks have fallen to 25% and 45%,” The Blaze noted, citing the Post report. “For 20- to 25-year-olds, in 1997 the rate was at nearly 90%, compared to 2020, when the number went down to 80%.”
The Post added:
Equipped with ride-sharing apps and social media, “zoomers,” as they are sometimes called, are getting their driver’s licenses at lower rates than their predecessors. Unlike previous generations, they don’t see cars as a ticket to freedom or a crucial life milestone. The question — for American drivers and for the planet — is whether that trend will last.
Fox News noted that Green Car Congress said in 1983, 80 percent of 18 year olds at the time had a driver’s license, but that figure fell to just 61 percent in 2018. During that timeframe, 16-year-olds with licenses fell 20 percent.
In 2012, a report from the Frontier Group and U.S. Public Interest Research found that between 2001 and 2009, the miles that were driven by younger Americans fell by 24 percent.
Noreen McDonald, a professor of urban planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told the Post that the most common phases of life that include getting a license and moving out of a parent’s home “are consistently getting later.”
The reasons solicited from Gen Z Americans were telling as well, per the Post.
Corr from New York told the paper regarding a driver’s license, “I just felt like I didn’t need it,” despite taking driver’s ed.
“When I was learning with my parents, a lot of times I would end up crying because I was so stressed out,” said Madison, 23, who lives in Seattle and uses public transit or ride-sharing.
“I’m in favor of having more public transport for environmental reasons,” added Louisa of D.C.
USA Today filed a similar report in 2021 with similar responses from Gen Z youngsters.
“That’s it, I’m done. Don’t like it,” Kat, a 16-year-old from New Jersey, said she told her parents after just 10 minutes of driving lessons using a golf cart.
“I’m an anxious person, and driving does seem intimidating to me. I’ve tried it, and it just feels very hard,” said Celeste, a high school senior from Boston at the time.
