On getting a driver's licence on my 16th birthday...

[MineralMan]

The news is that lots of young people are skipping the rite of passage of getting a driver's license. There are lots of reasons for that, I suppose, like living in an urban area where public transit is available or just the hassle of learning to drive and taking the driving test. As an old fart of 68, I'm still having trouble with that concept.

I learned to drive with my father sitting in the passenger seat. He frowned a lot and didn't seem to understand my inability to immediately grasp driving skills. But, I learned, anyhow. When I was 15, I took driver's training through my high school, since it was still offered by public schools at no cost. The driving instructor was more patient than my father, but I had already learned to drive by then, anyhow. It would lower the cost of my parents' car insurance, though, so I took the class, and got my learner's permit, which allowed me to drive with an adult in the passenger seat.

As my 16th birthday approached and my driving skills improved, my father had a talk with me. Basically, it was this: "Don't get a ticket, or I'll take your license away." "No, you can't have your own car. You can drive one of the family cars." Don't drink alcohol, or I'll take your license away." "Don't be cruising around with your friends." "Have fun."

My father, ever the taskmaster and joker, insisted that I take the official driving test in his truck, a 1948 Dodge 5-window pickup. It had a manual four speed transmission that demanded double-clutching when shifting. I had learned that skill, with the constant warning, "Don't break the transmission. It's expensive to fix." and "Grind me another pound, son."

Anyhow, I passed the driving exam, got my license, and with it, a certain freedom that was priceless to a 16-year-old. I could use the family car, a 1959 Plymouth Savoy 4-door sedan with a six-cylinder engine and pushbutton 2-speed automatic transmission, if I asked nicely, kept it full of gas, and washed it every week.

My allowable driving radius slowly increased over the next year, until I was able to drive down to Los Angeles on my own, some 50 miles away from my small citrus-growing town. Freedom. That's what the driver's license meant. Freedom to explore beyond the boundaries that once limited my explorations.

Now, I live in a big city with public transportation, which I use when it goes where I need or want to go. But, I could not really live without being able to drive. I drive to small towns, to see things, to visit people, and for many other reasons. I could exist without driving anywhere, but I couldn't live. There's too much to see beyond where I can go on the bus or on a bicycle. Far too much.

I've driven from coast-to-coast a dozen or so times in my life, stopping in all sorts of fascinating places I could never see without a car. I've visited most of the National Parks, crossed both the Mexican and Canadian borders, and have seen much of America from behind the wheel of my car. Driving has let me go where my mind led me, not where the bus schedule allowed me to go. I've visited 44 states in a car.

I don't understand not driving at all. I don't understand the reasoning behind not bothering to learn to drive. My life would have been far less complete without visiting all the places I've driven to. I can't live only in my city. I have to go beyond those boundaries. Maybe some people don't need to do that, or don't know they need to do that. I don't know, but I sure don't understand it.

[liberal N proud]

1. I wonder if the decline in drvers has anything to do with privatization of drivers education?

It cost $300 or more to take these so called driving education courses. Is it possible that people just don't have the ability to pay for this extorted fee plus the cost of ownership of a vehicle?

[MineralMan]

3. I don't know. In Minnesota, if you wait until you're 18,

you don't have to do that. I have a nephew here, though, who keeps putting off taking a driving class, even though his parents can afford it. He keeps thinking he'll get his driver's license at 16 anyhow, but he's in for a surprise.

$300 doesn't seem that high to me, given the increased cost of car insurance and the cost of fueling an automobile. I suppose it's a big hurdle for some kids, though. I don't know.

[riverbendviewgal]

2. One of the reasons is probably too expensive

Insurance, upkeep, paying for parking .

I had one son who went for his license at 16 and got it. Another who waited to 18..He was not in a rush. He moved to the city and loved the city and rarely ventured it out. If the city is big enough like Toronto you don;t need to. He rented cars when he wanted to drive somewhere out of the city.

He lives in UK now and takes the train and tube. He does have a car with his partner but they do a lot of walking.

Some people would love to travel like you but they don't have the money or time off work.

The USA workplace is not great at giving vacation time. There is no obligation to give any.

My first job in Canada gave 3 weeks paid off the first year I worked.

I retired getting 6 paid weeks off vacation.

[MineralMan]

4. You don't really have to take a vacation to drive somewhere

interesting, though. No matter where you live, there are things to do and see nearby, but too far to go except by driving. The bus only goes where it goes, after all, and it doesn't go everywhere that's worth visiting.

[Fresh_Start]

5. my 17-yo and his two closest friends just took and passed their DL road test this week

Their deadline was before they went to college (in a few weeks).
We live in a suburb with bus service to mass transit and taxis.
They walk to school and the mall and each others houses.
They were all honors students taking loads of AP courses and extracurricular activities.
Drivers license wasn't a priority until they graduated in June.

But like you I got my license when I was 16: I lived in a rural area with 10 miles to my school and grocery store.
25 miles to the movie house.
Different time/place.

[CK_John]

6. Part of it the kids are going green and the other part is they know oil will not be around in 20 yr.

They also know car will be driverless, so why learn to drive. Cars are already driverless, the makers are just trying to figure out how to get the laws changed before starting their ad campaigns.

[LWolf]

7. I grew up in the SF valley,

which still had some citrus groves when I was younger, anyway. I got my license when I was 17; my mom kept putting off taking me to the DMV with weak excuse after weak excuse. I guess she just couldn't say, "I'm not ready for you to be out on the road on your own," or "I don't think you're ready to be out on the road on your own."

It didn't really matter; we had one car, and she needed it for work. Even though I lived several miles from the nearest public bus line, I rarely got to use the car.

Now I live rurally, and couldn't get to town without driving. I organize trips in to take care of the most business with the fewest miles possible. I don't like driving around town, I don't like shopping. I do like to go see OTHER places on occasion. This summer, I crossed the mountains and spent a few days in our beautiful big city. I left the car parked and took public transit everywhere, reveling in the ability to go ANYWHERE, all day long, on the same ticket, to never have to deal with traffic or parking.

My own sons got their licenses at 16/17, but didn't drive much until they got their own vehicle and insurance, which delayed them some.

Most of my students, living rurally, can drive before they're teenagers, having driven trucks, tractors, and ATVs long before they are old enough for driver's ed.

Many of them delay getting their license because of cost. They just can't afford it. Budget cuts make driver's ed hard to get at high school, which is an added cost. One former student, who just finished his first year in college, didn't get his license until last summer. I asked him why once, while he was still in high school. He pointed to his best friend, who he'd gone through middle school in my class with, and said, "Why should I, when Dave will drive me anywhere I want to go? He's got the license and insurance, and it costs me a little gas money." They both lived rurally; anywhere they wanted to go, it wasn't a trip down the block. By the time he was starting his junior year, his younger 16 yo sister got her license, and she drove him, too. He was 18 and out of HS before he finally began driving. He tells me that he's got a better college fund than some because of it.

[frazzled]

8. Neither of my kids wanted to drive

My daughter, 32, just got her license a year and a half ago, and didn't get a car until just recently, when she moved for a job to a place where she absolutely couldn't get along without one. She was always sort of scared of driving, and also thought it was wasteful. My son, 28, although he has a license, is just dead set against the idea of cars altogether. Fortunately, he lives where there is good public transit. For both, the sort of ecological education they grew up with contributed to their distaste for driving. (Another factor may have been their mother screaming at other drivers every time she got in the car.)

Climate change is very real for these kids. I commend them for not adding to the insane car culture of our country. Eventually, they'll have to make a compromise with it, if kids and jobs require it. But the dream of "On the Road" that we grew up with is NOT their dream.

[roamer65]

9. IMHO, its mainly insurance costs.

A lot of companies use credit checks along with a driving record now. Someone with bad credit told me their rates and I almost hit the floor.

[Posteritatis]

11. Fuel costs, too

Gas is $4.91US/gal in my neck of the woods (to which I say "thank heavens for good transit and my slightly unhinged definition of "walking distance&quot .

[MissB]

10. After getting a permit, it takes 100 hours of driving time

with an adult to be able to take the test for a license. Only 50 hours are required if a driving course is taken.

Our insurance will go up dramatically when our 15 yo son turns 16 and gets his license. Our insurance company will give a discount for good grades (which my kids will both be eligible for), so I'm sure around here it is likely about cost.

We also have excellent public transportation. My kids ride their bikes 6 to 10 miles a day, but I'm looking forward to having them drive, despite the cost. Errand boys!

[trof]

12. I had that same 'freedom' feeling when I got my first bike. Circa 1949?

It was a Western Flyer.


Phase 1: I was allowed to ride around the back yard.
Grandpa monitored my skill development.
In his younger days he owned a bicycle shop and won medals in bike races.

Phase 2: I was allowed to ride around our block.
"DON'T GET OFF THE BLOCK!!!"

Phase 3: I was allowed to rise around the neighborhood.
"DON'T GET OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!!"

Phase 4: How the hell do they know if I'm in the neighborhood?


Two or three buddies and I would pack a sandwich on a Saturday, tell our folks we were going to a neighborhood park, and head out FOR DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM!
WooHoo!

We hooked rides on shuttle engines in the L&N train yard.
The engineers were usually kind to us.
Once they invited us to lunch in a caboose parked on a siding.

For a nickel we could buy a fresh loaf of bread from the Merita Bread bakery/factory.
And back then I could eat the entire loaf.


We went to the main branch of the Birmingham Public Library.
I was gobsmacked at the size of the place and ALL THOSE BOOKS!

We also haunted a string of pawn shops on a street on the fringe of downtown.
Wow!
Switchblade knives, guns, swords(?), brass knuckles...weapons of all kinds.
(We were really into weapons.)

Eventually the proprietors would run us out.
"You kids ain't buyin' nuthin'. Get out!


The second time in my life that I felt this feeling of freedom was when I learned to fly.
Now THAT'S freedom!

[mstinamotorcity2]

13. The good

old days. Miss them too. it seems like we had the same type of introduction to driving. Practiced with the family car and went to Driver's Ed through Public school. Public School is where I learned to do basic matinence to check oil, tires, fluids, and change a tire. Funny I just didn't want to jacked when I got my own car for simple stuff. Had the worst time me and four other female students just for taking the class. don't even want to know the names. but I am glad I didn't let them stop me. It has helped me keep my vehicles around awhile.

[Lugnut]

14. I was counting the days until my 16th birthday.

That was in 1961. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the family ride. I already knew how to drive through my experiences driving around my friend's family farm in a modified Model B Ford with a stick shift, spark lever and foot starter. My dad let me drive his work car on the coal company dirt roads around our home so I was no rookie.

My dad was old school. He never bought a car with an automatic transmission. Before he would sign my permit paper I had to demonstrate how to change a tire and show him how to check the car's fluids. He was a very patient teacher and he insisted that I take the car out in the snow once I got my license. He said no daughter of his was going to be afraid to drive in the snow.

I can't even imagine how I could ever live without my car. My mother used to call her car her freedom and she was spot on.