Driving costs too much for teens

I took my 16-year old granddaughter driving the other day.  She had her learners permit and needed a few more hours behind the wheel.   For the most part, she’s a good driver.   She just needs more experience.

However, she may be unusual.   Recent studies have shown that fewer and fewer teenagers are getting driver’s licenses – – and that’s good news.

It’s good news because teenagers are involved in more accidents than any other age group.   It’s not until we get over the age of 70 that we begin to equal teenagers in the accident statistic group.

According to the AAA, only half of all teenagers are licensed to drive by the age of 18 today compared to two-thirds just 20 years ago.   Social scientists and statisticians point to several different reasons for the decline.

Some say there’s a trend for people to move back to the big cities where public transporation means they have less need of a car to get around.  Some say the state imposed restrictions on teen drivers, such as the graduated license, takes away some of the freedom associated with driving.

But most people agree that driving has just become too expensive.  It’s money, more than anything else, that has reduced the number of teen drivers.

That’s the opinion of an insurance-based research group.   The cost of driving has reached a point where teenagers find it better to rely on others for transportation than bear the costs themselves.

Lets review some of the costs associated with driving. First – anyone under 18 has to take drivers training if they want a license.   That costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $400.   Then there’s the cost of automobile insurance.   For a teenager, with good grades, the cost is around $2000 a year.   There’s also the cost of gas.   Right now its around $2.30 per gallon, but it has been as high as $5 a gallon and could get that high again.

Those costs assume that the teen has access to a family car.   If not, there’s the cost of buying a car – – usually a used car.   The used car market is still hot and prices are high.

Whatever the reason for fewer teen drivers on the road – – I’m all for it.   They have to make room for me because now I’m in a high accident rate group myself.