No interest in driving?

I was talking to my #2 son yesterday and the topic of my soon to be 15 year old granddaughter starting to drive came up. Son said she has zero, zip, nada interest in getting her license. In fact,he was talking to his insurance agent and she asked if he was going to have to add anyone to his policies. He said he didn't think so and told her why. And then the revelation: she said she is seeing this more and more, driving age teenagers showing no interest in getting a driver's license or driving. Anyone else heard or seen of this happening?

My older son was pretty ambivalent about it, he finally just got his license at 17.5 years old.

My younger son just turned 16, he's a little more motivated to drive.

A few weeks back I overheard them talking to a female friend who must be around 17-18, and I heard her say she has her license and drives her older siblings who don't have their licenses around!

So yes, I think this is becoming more common.

I have a cousin who got his DL at 20 simply due to his family pressuring him to get it.

I just dont understand it.

My son is 22 and had zero interest in driving! We even had a great Jeep Cherokee for him to drive when he was ready. Finally forced him to go to drivers ed (because he wouldn't listen to me trying to teach him) and he managed to get his license. No interest in cars whatsoever, either.

My daughter is the polar opposite and has her license and is driving at 16. Wants behind the wheel of the hotrod pretty badly but we will see.

I think this goes back to online stuff and people spending more time socializing on the internet and with messages instead of in person. They don't have to drive somewhere to get together in person anymore so driving isn't as important to them.

My sons both got their license on their 16th birthday and wanted to drive all the cars. My brother's three kids all got their licenses around their 18th birthday, except his second daughter who waited until she was around 20. The youngest of all five is now 35. I never understood it, but saw it. One difference between my kids and his is that they grew up around the cars. My kids also got much better grades.

Yep - it's real & I'm seeing more & more of it - both boys & girls - not sure about the third & fourth genders. No desire to drive, no interest in vehicles. Did WE do something wrong, or is virtual reality destroying the younger generations?

Thats what happens when you make the nest too comfortable...in addition to social interactions there is the lack of drive to grow up (become self supporting) The parents of teenagers and younger I associate with are so involved in their children's day to day activities it is understandable why children don't or cant grow up...they don't know how or even have to for that matter.

Yes, I have friends telling me about their kids not really interested or waiting past their 16th birthday. It's so hard for me to understand. Probably like most of you, I was sneaking the car out before I had a license, I was counting the days and so thankful my 16th fell on a weekday, reminding my mom over and over not to make plans, we HAD to go to the DMV as soon as I got home from school!!!!

Oddly enough, my soon to be 17 yo son, next week, will help me turn wrenches on the 51 but is very blase about getting a license. He's already done the driver's ed thing too.

I don't understand that one at all.

I was driving all the time after about 14, never got a license till 18 (right after I got pulled over the first time) but I have always loved to drive. My 16 year old had no motivation so we have stopped taking him places he wants to go, church, youthgroup, swimming, work... and now all the sudden he want to get one!

IMO its the boiled frog deal. They've been riding the bus so long they have forgot how bad it is in comparison to driving their own car. They also might be scared of the stress from a driving test ???

My brother and I bought a really clean low mileage 97 Escort and made sure it was safe and road ready over a year ago for my nieces 17 year old son.

He had no interest in getting his drivers license at all, he said his mom could drive him to work and where ever he wanted to go.

About a month ago after a year of it sitting here we gave them an ultimatum of either he gets his license or we sell the car.
They came and picked it up, but I don't think that he has his license yet and I think he's 19 now..

A buddy's 19 year old daughter has no interest in getting her license, she's afraid of driving.

Your car was your freedom to go where you want, as has already been stated these days kids want to live virtually online.

I think that they would suffer severe depression if you took their cell phone away.
That's really sad.

My 18 year old got his license before he was 17, but not on his 16th birthday like most of us did.
I have 16 year old twins. Neither had an interest until one started taking the bus home from summer school. The 20 minute walk from the bus stop to the house in Las Vegas summer gave him the motivation he needed.

They are on line regularly with friends and whether they are on line with friends or in person seems to be the same to them. I think that's the lack of motivation to drive. Take away the internet (and enabling parents) and I bet we would see a lot more scary beginner driver's on the road.

We have had several people at work over the years who even when they do have a license and a vehicle they don't use it unless the weather forces them to. They get places to live close to where their job is and walk, or bike to get around. When the job dries up they get another one and move again. Some do it to 'save the planet' ,and others just don't want a vehicle to pay for and take care of. Oil changes, wash and wax, tire inflation, brake jobs. etc. are all unnecessary baggage to them.

Hey, they aren't looking for a job, either. DAMHIK.

Yep, crazy as can be. Kids got to hit the door at 18 and if they cant sleep where they work, best to have a DL and a car.

This is not a new phenomena. When my daughter turned sixteen she got her license immediately, yet many of her friend who turned 16, 17, 18 and did not get theirs. It has just kept growing from there.
As to why. The trend that began with millennials has been amplified by Generation Z, with teens citing a myriad of reasons for putting off or avoiding getting a driver license. Some prefer more environmentally friendly transportation options, some found driving too stressful and some just don't care about cars.

My 16 year old gets up at 5:30 AM and walks to work since we quit driving him but it is only about 1.5 miles right now, all his coworkers and boss man say he works awesome, he is working construction so it is hard work.

I see it a lot. We had to leave the house to socialize. Kids today socialize online. They would rather have internet than a car any day.

I also see this new generation spending their money on events/vacations rather than items. Most would rather not spend a lot of money on stuff but instead spend money on things that bring memories.
I see some logic to that one.

I grossly underestimated the work ethic of my son.

He did a stint at Wal-Mart in the Automotive dept. changing tires and would work circles around the other guys. Like I said previously, no real interest in cars. I figured he would wash out after a couple of weeks but I was wrong. He loves that money! LOL!

He finished his robotics degree and got hired the same day he was interviewed! Apparently it's hard to find someone that has that degree/experience, can weld, run a lathe, cnc and pass a drug test. He was hired the same day they interviewed him!

I'm so proud of the fact that he's following his passion and doing what he likes. Don't lump all kids into the same basket.

Many appear to not want a steady 'job' but rather a 'gig' where they are not tied to it 5 days a week. When they are done with the gig they stop working and travel around/goof off with friends until the money is gone and then they start looking for work again.

You're right. There are still some good ones out there and I'm guilty of sometimes saying "kids today". You should be proud!

My niece doesn't drive and will probably never drive as long as she lives in Chicago. Just no interest in another responsibility.

My son walks to work and has a drivers license. His mother is a crazy driver and had an accident that put her in the hospital for a month when he was five. After a broken arm and leg from bike injuries he just would rather walk.

Growing up on a farm a drivers license was the only way to get miles away from work quickly. I couldn't wait for the comfort of being away from work when I was a kid. Most kids don't have that issue and would rather stay home.

If I would not have loved cars, and driving, I'd have a lot more money now... Hindsight is 20/20. Then again, what would I have done with all that time? If I didn't love the cars and driving, I probably wouldn't have had to work either. More time to kill. For me, cars, driving, and work were probably a good answer.

I think far too many people these days, both young and old, don't really want to have any responsibilities placed on them. Being responsible requires them to get involved with life, and that might be too much work.

I have seen that as well. Of course, they always seem to find someone willing to drive them wherever they want. Sign me up. If I wanted to go somewhere as a kid it was always up to me to get there.

My three kids, now in their mid-late 20s, are not that interested in cars or driving. They see them as necessities. They see them for the money pits that they are. I'm thankful. Their lack of interest in cars and driving has nothing to do with the internet or social media. Their days are full, busy and long with work and other activities. Times are different and so are their choices and lives. We need to be careful to not cast to wide a net when decrying the younger generations.

Great: Then just tell them to "hike It", Uber, or bum a ride from their friend(s).
But I guess you could buy them a Good pair of walking shoes.

My mom didn't get her drivers license until she was 45! Always lived where one wasn't needed, and she was born in 1929. After she finally decided it was something she wanted to do, she used that ability quite often until she had three small accidents at age 88 and handed me the keys to her car. I here all the time about kids wanting nothing to do with driving and believe it will be the death knell of automobile manufacturers eventually...

Hmmm, it was a few years ago now.... I wanna say 2017 (but I could be wrong) and it was the first year in Canada that the number of new Drivers finally went DOWN.

A car doesn't offer the same thing to a teenager these days. Most kids that age don't see a car as any sort of status symbol; they simply see it as a tool. Not only that, cars are pretty boring today. Long gone are the days of buying a 10-year old luxury car like an older Oldsmobile, Lincoln or Cadillac. That sort of thing either doesn't exist, or is priced well above the means of the average teenager.

Long gone are the days of buying something for a few hundo and fixing it up. Not only are used clunkers not that cheap anymore, neither are the parts nor the expertise to repair such a vehicle. Even look at the "Sport Compact" segment. It's been handed over to Honda; lock, stock and fishing tackle. Neon? Ancient. Dart/200? Meh. Cavalier? Cobalt?? Antiques. Tiburon? RSX? Integra? "Dude, are you even speaking English?"

Anything "Cool" costs a fortune to purchase, maintain or even feed.

Almost like this has been programmed into them in some sort of clandestine plan to limit our ability to move.

The world has changed - and not for the better. I always quote my 1968 statistics.... when minimum wage was .75 an hour.... if a person saved up every penny they earned for a year, maybe mowed some lawns on the side and won a few hands of poker, they could take home a brand-new Road Runner. Or that same person could have their pick of any number of lesser priced NEW cars like a Rambler or one of them foreign jobs or even a VW. But they could purchase something NEW if they wanted and pay for it in cash.

Can the average minimum wage slob do that today? Not without difficulty. Cheapest car on the market ( I just Googled ) is the Chevy Spark (whatever that is) MSRP $16,690. A Hyundai Elantra now stickers for over $20k. (Remember when Hyundai BRAGGED about the $9,999.99 Accent?? And those are almost NEAT little cars!) Average minimum wage worker definitely ain't taking anything like that home by paying cash and ain't nobody gonna finance a 17 year old workin' at Mickey D's.

It's the last day's of Rome, folks. And Nero is in the White House.



But one thing I will point out is that driving is kinda boring. 50-60 years ago, a car handled poorly at best, but the roads followed the lay of the land and were FUN to drive. Narrow road, blind corners, one-lane bridges.... heck, finding an OLD stretch of road in a modern car gives me a chubby!!

Today, the most pedestrian car can do the Kessle run in less than 12 parsecs but 99% of roads are flat, straight or "engineered for safety". F*** that, noise you fat Penguin!! I want a narrow, two-lane built into the side of a mountain with nothing more than an old bicycle chain protecting me from a 1,000-ft chasm. That'll put hair on your giblets.

My older daughter (now 19) got her temps right away, got her license right away. We bought her a car to drive. Several of her friends don't drive, so she's often tapped for rides, and they give her gas money. I made a deal with her that she can keep half of what they give her, and the other half goes to me, since I pay for her gas. I actually come out a little bit ahead, and she gets some $$ in her pocket. She goes to school and has a job, and wouldn't be able to do the things she's doing without being able to drive.

Younger daughter (now 14) is indifferent about driving, but she'll still get her temps next year and start working toward getting her license when she's 16. She knows that her mom and I aren't going to shuttle her all over the place, that we're not letting her ride with other kids driving, and that using rideshares will cost a fortune that she doesn't have.

I don't get it either, there was a girl in one of my classes in high school(class of 97) that had zero interest in getting her license. That was absurd to me, totally insane as I had my license by 9 or 10AM on my 16th birthday. She eventually got it but not until she was 18 or 19. Back then that wasn't common at all but now I see it all the time, still strange to me. My city is not one with good public transport, you would have to plan out hours to get get to work via public transport. I think a lot of the issue is having a car gives you the ability to go to work, the few I know that were either way delayed or just haven't gotten license yet are also not the working type.

I have an 8 year old boy that loves cars. At this point I don't see a problem with him wanting to drive when its time. He will probably be more tech savy than me by the time he is of working age, but if the internet is what keeps him home I will figure out a way to put a bill changer or card reader on the modem or something lol. Easy to say now!

My Dad grew up around railroads back in the '30s and early '40s. He was really interested in all aspects of that stuff. I grew up working in a gas station in the '70s with hot rods everywhere. I don't give a damn about trains.

Our daughter grew up around muscle cars and learned how to drive with my hemi truck thnk God lol!

I didn't get a license until I was 18. That doesn't mean I wasn't driving though. I was buying cars at 13. Probably had 10 or 12 before I got a license.
I don't see that around here though, everything is far away so without a license and a car you aren't going anywhere

I'm pretty sure all the kids around here are driving soon as they can; but they all have jobs and things to do...

Dad made sure I could drive the family car many years before I was licensed, in case there was some emergency.
And I practiced late at night many a time with no adult supervision; but that was the early '60s, a completely different world...

I discussed this thread with my 31-year-old daughter, and she believes the three major reasons for lack of interest in driving are:
High car prices
High fuel prices
Environmental concerns

Exactly.

With the advent of delivered fast food, groceries, packages,..basically everything. Why endure the expense of insurance, tag renewal, maintenance, etc? It's cheaper to call a Lyft driver to take you places.

Agree with above
Exactly what my son voiced, "After your house, your car is the biggest expense you have, and you only use it 1-2 hrs per day"
And with a new car costing $50-100k, maybe it is money better spent elsewhere

My girls , 22 and 25 couldnt wait to get their license when they hit 16

Both have grown up around old cars all their life and ea want one of their own someday

Exaggerate much?

No need to spend that kind of money on a new car, unless your self esteem is based on how much you spent on a new car. Or were never taught anything about money, budgets and needs versus wants.

My son's lack of interest in driving has nothing to do with the price of a car, it's my car and it's paid off. The price of fuel, I fill the tank. Nor is he brainwashed by the environmental whackadoos.

He's just not interested.

The need for a license or car was for one thing, to get away from the house, somewhere else to go. Freedom!

Looked for and may missed it, but I haven’t seen a reply that contains the comment of telling your kid- you get a license at 16’ because the chauffeur service ends then.

I got a buddy who worked the odd hours so he could drive his 20 year old to his pizza job and back. Cotton picking unbelievable. My buddies step dad would have to,d him to oil his bicycle chain up and hit it, so I don’t know where it comes from.

So much has been mentioned regarding the necessity of the car. To and from work, etc. My getting my license was HUGELY based on the love of the car! I wanted to be in and around cars since I have memories! I bet many of you are the same. I can remember the smell of the interior of cars my dad had from when I was six years old! Anytime my parents were going anywhere, I wanted to go too, just to be the passenger and hear and feel the experience. When I was six years old our neighbor had an old '66 ish Newport and I would hear that starter from across the street and recognize the Chrysler starter.

No, there's something genetic. It's the love of cars that drives you (haha pun) to get your license, otherwise it's a ho-hum thing, and just an appliance that one may not need to bother with.

Had I needed to I probably would have told them that. No need to as they were both ready to drive. We also encouraged it by paying for driver's ed. It was a little tight on the budget, but we also paid for fuel and insurance as long as they were involved in something outside of simply going to school. That could be sports, clubs, etc. Their "job" was school, but they also worked part time for a friend who has a restoration shop (yes, both of them). Now, in their late 30s, they both have families of their own and own houses worth a good bit more than ours. We also had them do the bulk of the out of town driving while they were new drivers. The goal was getting them as much experience behind the wheel as possible before they were adults.

But, in the end our goal was to make independent adults so that we could enjoy the empty nester years.