Kids and getting the driver's license....I just don't get it

[dkn1997]

I have been hearing more and more stories lately of kids having zero desire for a driver's license.  18 and 19 year olds getting dropped off for college classes by mommy.  WTF?  the license was the biggest event in my life up to that point.  I made my dad get me the permit study book when I turned 15, was waiting outside the door for DMV to open on my 16th birthday and had my license less than 2 months later. 

I have asked why and the reasons I get are so freakin stupid. "(insert name) has friends who drive, he gets rides whenever he needs them"   are you kidding?  I had the misfortune of being born way late in the year so all my friends had licenses even before I could get my permit so I could have gotten a ride anywhere but that changed nothing.  I was dying for that license. 

I just don't get it.  maybe today's parents make it too comfortable at home.  I suppose if I was given everything and wasn't held accountable for anything maybe my house would have seemed more comfortable than the Hilton too.  I don't know.  Is it because owning a car means you have to work and they are just too lazy? 

I remember it being such a huge right of passage and at that age, I never even heard of one single kid who wasn't dying to get on the road.  It's such a great lesson in responsibility too. 

It made me feel so grown up being able to go anywhere I wanted, working, paying my own way.  I don't think you have to be a car guy either.  Just the fact that you can get the F out of your parents house should be motivation enough. 

[PA Dodger]

I was the same as you. My drivers license was the most important (almost) thing in my life at 16.
A 16 year old friend of the family was heartbroken recently when he didn't pass his test. He will be a good responsible driver.
But... the less of the no-respect, better than you, punk a$$es that like to do banzai runs through the residential areas in their turbo Subaru WRX's there are driving the better.
I'm not saying I didn't drive like an idiot from time to time but we used out of the way roads or highways. And I respected my elders when I got an a$$ chewing for doing it.

I think it's a maturity and responsibility...or lack of issue. Why do it when someone else will shuttle you around.

Dan     

[bull]

If the cars back then were as gay-looking as they are now I wouldn't really want a license that bad either.

[Manfred318]

I really had no desire to get my licence. I had a car. I had to work to pay for it, and I paid for most of the repairs on it. I didnt rely on friends for rides. I wouldnt have rode with them anyways. My parents rode me around, but I never asked them to go out of their way to take me somewhere. If they were going that way cool. If not no problem Ill catch it when they do. I didnt get my permit until I was almost 16 and didnt get a licence until I was 17. I had no trouble passing the test or anything I just didnt really like to drive that much. I still dont for that matter.

[69bronzeT5]

I was really excited to get my licence

[Mefirst]

Don't know how much the cost is to get a drivers license in the US, but over here in Sweden its not cheap, so -Yes, I do understand why kids don't have a burning desire to take a drivers license and rather spend their hard earned (or parrents) cash on other stuff, like traveling...

A buddy's kid just got his drivers license, when al was paid for, driving lessons, written exam, drive exam, etc.. The cost ended up around 2100$$$ and he passed the written and drivers exam on the first try..
IF you were to give driving lessons yourself to your kid it would be cheaper, but there is a lot of other issues that comes with that....

Many, many moons ago, when I took my drivers license, total cost was about 600$ and I have the license to drive a motorcycle, car and lorry (though with length/weight restrictions) The cost of a drivers license like that today, I wouldn't even want to think about the cost

/Tom

[BrianShaughnessy]

    A subject I'm somewhat familiar with of late.  The quasi step daughter just got her license 2 weeks ago at 17 2/3.   She'll be 18 in July.    
   I had drivers training thru school when I was 15 back in MI,  got my learners permit that summer and had to wait 2 weeks after I turned 16 to get a road test ... thought I was gonna die for those 2 weeks.    I have worked since I was 15 (period).  
   Friends of hers have had their license for awhile but between her real father not pushing the subject and their bad relations and whatnot and her mother's schedule... well,   the girl just never really did much to help herself out.     She didn't sign up for drivers training at HS because of some softball team stuff and didn't get around to doing the mandatory class because of this or that.   She didn't look to find a job either in that time.
  She had a few boyfriends and between myself and her mother we were stuck carting them around...     seems some parents also grow tired of the chauffer deal too just like I did.    I told them to figure out their transportation BEFORE they setup a date...  didn't work... but mom is a softie.   The latest BF lives 25 miles away that she met at BOCES (vo-tech / whatever you call it in your neck of the woods).   That got real old real fast... he didn't do too much to help his situation either.
  So after she finally gets a job in January that she has to do 250 hours to graduate her food service deal and me having to run home like an idiot to get her to her job by 4pm several days a week,   I'm finally relaxing.    Mom is letting her use her 04 Malibu and makes her keep the cell fone off (I'm sure she goes down the street and turns it on anyway but whatchagonado? ).   She is driving herself to school and work.   And the attitude change is absolutely incredible since she had to start working and being responsible.   She's even gone out and gotten the Sunday paper and bagels on her own      
  This fall she'll be starting at the CIA (culinary institute) in Hyde Park.  

 Anyway...  my opinion is to make them get a job instead of laying around the house all summer.  


 

   

 
   

[bakerhillpins]

 And the attitude change is absolutely incredible since she had to start working and being responsible.   She's even gone out and gotten the Sunday paper and bagels on her own     
   This fall she'll be starting at the CIA (culinary institute) in Hyde Park. 

  Anyway...  my opinion is to make them get a job instead of laying around the house all summer. 

Great  in my opinion also.

I learned more from responsibility than anything. Yep, responsibility sucks sometimes but as far as I am concerned it does more for teaching kids how to behave/survive than any other single thing I can push as a parent.

[charger_cody]

Listen, when I turned 16 I was at the DMV the next morning, waiting, impatiently. I was more excited than a fat kid in a twinky factory man.

Cody

[General_01]

In this economy, some of it I am sure is $ related. Along with paying for drivers ed, your insurance goes up. If your already struggling to keep the house, then other things are going to hae to wait. And I am sure we have all heard the teenager say they will get a job and pay for it, but can you really count on that. If your kid get a DL, you have to be prepared to pay for it if they can't or won't get a job.

[moparstuart]

alot of states you cant get a lic at 16 anymore .  Just a permit and with good driving record a lic by 18

[chargergirl]

Hawaii the age was 15 and you could get your permit and license. I was studied and at the door to take the written and driving ASAP. Got my license and was like the Publix commercial where the kid keeps going to the store for one grocery item at a time. LOVE TO DRIVE! On the other side is my sister who is married to a man that is just like her...they threw me out of the passenger seat to grab the backseat and the passanger seat and make me drive...they like to ride...but they have a license. As for my kids, only my step-daughter has no motivation to drive. She wants to but I think her upbringing makes her nervous...easier to not try than to try and be ridiculed..that's her dad's style. So she is working on building the confidence that goes with driving.

[dodgecharger-fan]

I'm struggling with this with my youngest right now.
!8 and hasn't even tried the written test to get her first license. (We have graduated licensing - G1, G2, then full G))

She does have a job. She got it on her own too. She's been doing a co-op term at a hotel and came home one day and said, "I've got a summer job in the kitchen."
That shows some initiative as the chef there is known as a difficult person to work for.. She has already started part time and paying her dues with back-to-back late shift then morning shift.
She's studying to be a chef and will be going to Niagara College in Sept...

Now to be fair, I never got my license until I was 18 either. However, I got my learner's permit right away. and renewed it when the first one expired.
Why did I wait? Nothing to drive. But I could drive once in a while with a friend who had his full license. So, I didn't do without..
I finally got it when I was lined up to go to college and NEEDED it or I wouldn't get to class. School was a 40-minute drive at highway speeds.. (less if you take the back roads  )

Well, it's different now with all those different levels of licenses. If she went out tomorrow and took the written test, she couldn't drive by herself until she got the next level.
And you can't test out to the next level for a year......
And then another year to get to the next level and have a full G license.

I told her that she better learn the bus routes, but that's not really going to work out. Getting from school to work could take almost 2 hours by bus. Yet, it's about a 10 minute drive.

So, she'll be paying "Mom's Taxi" for rides and occassionally I'll have to substitute.

I threatened her the other day. I told her I'd go out and buy a car with her college money and it can sit on the driveway until you can drive it. That got a little rise out of her, but I don't think it really worked. Maybe I should change it to "I'll go spend your college money on anew car for ME...." 

[Cooter]

Well, my boy has plenty of motivation...He can't freakin' wait....To drive his 440,4-speed,Dana 60 equipped, '66 plymouth Belvy...

He said he really isn't all that interested in driving to school as much as he is just cruising to the shows with it, and that's just fine with me...He managed to talk his uncle out of an old Honda that needed an engine for FREE, so he has his turd to drive everyday...

[TruckDriver]

If the cars back then were as gay-looking as they are now I wouldn't really want a license that bad either.

Ain't that the truth

[Chad L. Magee]

I will have to admit that I did not get my driver's licence until I was 18.  It was actually a good thing, as I lived in a very small town and I usually walked where I wanted to go, even to work.  The few friends (that I did have at the time) all had cars, so it was nothing to bum a ride if I needed one.  I failed Driver's Ed class on purpose (hated the instructor, made him mess his pants while I was driving by passing a parked car at 30 mph with an inch of clearence) and he would not take me back on as a student afterward.  I spent the rest of the course just driving around a parking lot since he did not trust me.  It was still worth it to me. ....    

[bobs66440]

I was jumping out of my skin to get my license! I remember very clearly my first drive after getting it...
it was 1977, my buddy & I jumped in my totally clapped-out '65 Ford pickup six-banger, got far away from the house and did my FIRST BURNOUT!!!

 

I'll never forget it!!

[68X426]

We got to face up to it: times have changed. A certain generation won't let kids grow up, and a certain generation doesn't want to grow up. It's a perfect storm.

License = car = independence = work.

No license = mom = relaxation = facebook.

Besides, the little rat bastards can't drive worth a shit anyway, so they are doing us all a favor by staying off the roads.   

[devilgear]

Well i was damn near 22 when i got my licence...haha, but i lived right in the city so i took the bus everywhere and either my buddies or girlfriends had cars, so thats how i got around.now the bigger picture was my mom could not afford driving lessons and she told me she did not want me driving until 18 anyway because she wanted me to be more mature. Also i went on tour with my band at 17 so i was rarley home plus every cent i had went to gear anyhow.i must have made up for all that though since i have owned tons of old cars since then and i was even a state licenced driving instructor at one point....ha

[ACUDANUT]

We got to face up to it: times have changed. A certain generation won't let kids grow up, and a certain generation doesn't want to grow up. It's a perfect storm.

License = car = independence = work.

No license = mom = relaxation = facebook.

Besides, the little rat bastards can't drive worth a shit anyway, so they are doing us all a favor by staying off the roads.   

Man I so agree.

[Ponch ®]

License = car = independence = work.

yep, I was gonna comment something along those lines. Because most schools (at least here in CA) have cut out Driver's Ed and behind the wheel driver's training, most kids nowadays actually have to put some effort into getting a license - in other words, get a job (unless they have rich or spoiler parents that pay for their private Driver's Ed/Training). I spent the whole summer before I turned 16 (my b-day is in September, so time was of the essence) slaving away at an uncle's restaurant doing all sorts of odd jobs, from moping the bathrooms to washing dishes (though I did spend quite a bit of time hitting on the cute waitresses) so I could save up enough $ to pay for driver's ed and behind the wheel training. It was something like $250, which back then was a ton of money to me. But I did it and got my permit/license as soon as I turned 16.

My sister just turned 17 and has no interest/motivation whatsoever to get a license. My mom drives her to and from school and she occasionally hitches rides with friends. She says it's because a) my mom won't pay for her driver's ed and b) she's too busy with school to get a job. Blah...i just think she's lazy.

[Old Moparz]

I think it depends more on the individual kid, not so much a generation of them. I know some who can't wait to drive, but some who don't care at all & not that different from when I was 16. I knew a few friends who wanted to drive badly, had jobs, saved money, & bought what they could afford. Others never showed an interest & hoofed it to wherever they had to go.

The money part of getting a license in the USA isn't a lot unless you feel it is necessary for driving lessons from a driving instructor. I think a lot of schools have discontinued driver's ed over the years because of budget cuts. That itself will not give some kids a chance to get a taste of driving a car & may not be motivated otherwise.

For me, I was also someone who couldn't wait to drive, & didn't wait.  

When 16, I ended up sneaking my Mom's 2nd car out when I knew my parents wouldn't be home. Did that until I was pulled over, but not for driving badly, I was pretty good at it. I was pulled over for an overdue inspection sticker that I knew nothing about.  

[Ponch ®]

 

The money part of getting a license in the USA isn't a lot unless you feel it is necessary for driving lessons from a driving instructor.

Here in CA you need to have a certificate / proof from a licensed driving school / instructor of 30 hours classroom (for the learning permit) and 6 hours behind the wheel before you can take the written/driving exams for the actual license. Most kids do the classroom part online (and some schools still may offer it as an elective), but still have to pay a driving school for the behind the wheel part. Runs about $200 or so...

[Old Moparz]

 

The money part of getting a license in the USA isn't a lot unless you feel it is necessary for driving lessons from a driving instructor.

Here in CA you need to have a certificate / proof from a licensed driving school / instructor of 30 hours classroom (for the learning permit) and 6 hours behind the wheel before you can take the written/driving exams for the actual license. Most kids do the classroom part online (and some schools still may offer it as an elective), but still have to pay a driving school for the behind the wheel part. Runs about $200 or so...

Well, that sucks. (the cost part)

Funny thing though, even with hours of instruction & practice there's still a ton of morons on the road that can't drive worth a crap.

[chargergirl]

Well i was damn near 22 when i got my licence...haha, but i lived right in the city so i took the bus everywhere and either my buddies or girlfriends had cars, so thats how i got around.now the bigger picture was my mom could not afford driving lessons and she told me she did not want me driving until 18 anyway because she wanted me to be more mature. Also i went on tour with my band at 17 so i was rarley home plus every cent i had went to gear anyhow.i must have made up for all that though since i have owned tons of old cars since then and i was even a state licenced driving instructor at one point....ha

That's called over compensating!

[devilgear]

Yeah i tend to do that alot...haa

[Green71R/T]

Both my girls got their learners permits @ 14. Got driving lessons for their 16th birthday($600 lesson saves over $1000 per year on insurance).Each bought and insured their own cars before they were 17.They are good drivers and I have no problem riding with them.Around here if you want a good job you better have a licence.It shows you can be responsible and be able to get to work.My neighbors son is 23 and has no interest in driving.He wonders why he can't get a decent job.

[chargergirl]

Around here if you want a good job you better have a licence.It shows you can be responsible and be able to get to work.My neighbors son is 23 and has no interest in driving.He wonders why he can't get a decent job.
[/quote]
First good for your girls! Where you are having your license kinda does the same thing as finishing high school. It proves that you can stick with something and finish it even if it isn't your favorite thing. Every read want ads in which you can tell what happened to the last person...must be dependable, must have dependable transportation, must be on time and work without constant supervision. Just read an ad on Craigslist in the Pensacola area...it stated if you like to send funny emails, chat with your friends online, and have to be supervised constantly this is not the job for you!

[Mike DC]

  
Maybe teenage kids would want a license again if we didn't restrict all the social usefulness out of it until they're damn near 20.

Lots of states have so many additional rules on teens that the license is nothing but a choir.  They can't drive unsupervised, they can't drive with friends in the car, they can't drive after curfew, etc.  If the license is piled under all those rules then it essentially becomes nothing but a reason to have to get a job and taxi around younger siblings.  In a state like this, teens are allowed to use the driving privelige when it's useful to the adult world but not when it's useful to themselves.  



There is also more & more restriction against kids just BEING anywhere these days.  At least being anywhere that some business isn't making money off them.  They can't be in public areas/parks after dark, they get stopped by cops in a lot of places just for being on foot, etc.  There's not a lot of incentive to be "free" with a drivers license if you still can't go anywhere that your parents wouldn't drive you to anyway. 

 

And let's not even go into how crappy modern cars are.  Everything about them is cheap & crummy except the maintinence & repair bills.


   

[bordin34]

In NJ you get your learners permit at 16. But to get the permit you must pass the test and pay a driving school about $300 for six hours and all you do is randomly drive around, never really learning anything but the state says you have to. You then must be 17 and have had a permit for at least six months. When you are 17 the restrictions used to be that you could only have one non-household family member in the car and have to be off the road by twelve at night. On May 1st it was changed to one other person period, you have to be off the road by eleven at night, and you need these big red stickers on your license plate so the cops can easily identify and pull you over. When you are 18 you finally get a real license and can do anything.

[69DodgeCharger]

Man I guess times have changed. I drove my 69 Ford pickup to drivers ed and my buddy drove his 76 Duster. We were both in the same group of three students along wiht some girl who probably shuoldn't have been behind the wheel....ever. The instructor didn't like us driving to his classes but what could he do? Back then (June '81) the classes were still offered through the school at no charge. I think we were required to have 6 hours behind the wheel, although it might have been 8. Finished the classes got my permit and was mobile, at least with a parent until 16. I was so used to driving and being able to get around my small town I didn't get my license for about 2-3 weeks after turning 16. Work and school and everybody I hung out with were within walking distance.