There is a weird where kids are getting their license later and later, which I admittedly don't understand. I was at the Secretary of State's office at 830am on my 16th birthday, waiting for them to open at 9 so I could get my license I was that excited. I get that some people have no need for a license because they live in a place with public transportation, can't afford it, or have a condition that might prevent them from driving, but the kids that say, "I don't feel like it" really confuse me. I also think it's kind of unfair to your parents if you're involved in a ton of things. Basically, you can drive but choose not to and just expect your parents to keep taxing you around.
That said, if someone asked me that as an interview question I'd tell them to get bent.
Yeah, I've had this same discussion with a number of friends who's kids are now turning driving age. I'd say it's a combination that's partially economic and simply a generational change.
Economic because when I (and a lot of my piers) turned driving age, getting a license was like a right of passage. And you could find a cheap, used car, that wasn't great and maybe needed some work for around $1500~$3000. That was still "real" money for somebody working a part time job for close to minimum wage. But it was obtainable. With the price of used cars now-a-days, or at least say, cars that aren't completely falling to pieces, not to mention the cost of maintenance, insurance, gas, upkeep, etc., having a car is a luxury a lot of kids just simply can't afford without serious help from family. I can remember 25 years ago, helping friends replace brake pads and a starter or alternator so that they could get back on the road. That's a concept that's not only expensive (and in some cases, overly complicated) now-a-days, but there are few kids out there with the expertise or family members with expertise to show them how to do it themselves.
And I say generational because a lot of kids who are now 15-20+, may want to get their license, just so they have it, but they aren't actually interested in driving. Or least not interested in the financial headaches of having their own car. They always seem to have the one friend who has a car or one of them will borrow a car from a family member, or if a bunch of them want to go out, they'll all chip in for uber. Somehow, at least here in the US, the concept of your driver's license equaling this romantic concept of freedom (of the open road) has somehow diminished. You're always going to have those who are real petrol-heads and love cars. But it's pretty clear that that the widespread automotive love has diminished. And I think, as a consequence, you can also see that with less and less interest in motorsports compared to previous generations.
EDIT: Ooops, wordy response as I thought this was the America thread. But anyway.
www.independent.co.uk
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