Are Younger People Who Fail To Get a Driver’s License Hurting Their Future?

Sun, 9/3/2017 - 4:34 am by Kirsten Rincon

An August 2013 study from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute shows that fewer young Americans are getting their driver’s licenses. This

matches a national trend: The number of new driver’s licenses being issued is on the decline, and there seem to be a number of reasons for the general decline. Surveyed Americans aged 18 to 39 cite reasons including:

  • Not having time to obtain a license
  • Not wanting to buy and/or maintain a vehicle
  • Easily accessible alternatives to car transportation

 

As being some of the reasons they don’t think it’s important to learn how to drive. Considering the ubiquity of the automobile in the USA, it’s far to wonder if failing to obtain a driver’s license will impact these people in a negative way. Here’s my assessment.

Let’s Talk About Jobs

While there are millions of jobs available that don’t require driving as a skill, it’s never wise to choose to exclude one’s self from potential employment opportunities. According to Bureau of Labor statistics from May 2012, 5.3% of all jobs were specifically related to driving (driving a bus, a limo, an over the road semi truck, etc.). What’s more, numerous studies (like this one from the Brookings Institution) have found that lack of a driver’s license is a key limitation for poor and/or urban Americans, as they have difficulty getting to jobs that are often readily available in suburban areas.

There’s also the fact that having a job is undeniably beneficial to one’s social standing in the office. If you’ve got a car, you’ve got a chance to take your co-workers to lunch, give a colleague a ride home from time to time, etc. While it might be able to discount the impact of these semi-random events, the simple fact is that “company politics” is a big factor in everyone’s career. Having transportation certainly isn’t going to hurt a person’s standing with their peers, but declining a trip to the bar after hours with co-workers because you might “miss the bus” could hurt one’s standings.

The USA Is Car-Dependent 

The United States, unlike some other countries, is heavily reliant upon personal transportation systems. US Census data shows that 80% of working Americans use their car to get to and from work. This same data shows that only 5% of workers rely upon public transportation.

Speaking of public transportation and reliability, workers who depend exclusively on bus systems, subways, etc. are at a bit of a disadvantage. A recent public transportation strike in San Francisco has left tens of thousand of people scrambling to find a way to get to work, not to mention that natural disasters (like hurricane Sandy) can shut down public transit systems for days.

Thinking outside of employment, consider the difficulties with:

  • raising children,
  • caring for a sick or elderly relative,
  • dealing with a medical emergency, or
  • dealing with a major weather event or disaster

 

Without access to a vehicle, If a sick child needs to be taken to the hospital, for example, there’s not always time to wait around for a ride.

Finally, it should be noted that adults often have more difficulty learning new skills than teenagers. It’s likely faster and easier for teens to learn to drive than adults, which is all the more reason for young people to get a license.

To sum up, unlicensed Americans might think that their inability to legally drive is “no big deal”, but the reality is that they’re probably going to regret their failure to obtain a license at some point.