Business & Tech

Fewer Teens Getting Drivers Licenses

A newly released study by AAA suggests economics might be driving the decrease but a local driving instructor says "it's more complicated than that."

By Bryan P. Sears

Teens appear to be waiting longer to obtain their first drivers license than at any other time over the last two decades.

Fewer teens who are 15 years nine and months old appear to be rushing out to participate in what used to be a traditional right of passage, according to a study released Thursday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

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The study found that only 44 percent of those surveyed nationwide said they obtained their license within 12 months of the minimum age for licensing and 54 percent were licensed by the time they turned 18. Two decades earlier, nearly two-thirds of teens were licensed to drive by the time they turned 18.

Not everyone agrees on the causes. Regina Averella, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said the delays appear driven by economics but at least one local driving instructor said the causes are “more complicated than the AAA Study.”

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Averella said the delays can also have an effect on driving safety because younger drivers who wait to get their learner’s permit lose out on the benefits of Maryland’s graduated drivers license program, she said. 

“With one in three teens waiting to get their license until they turn 18, there’s a segment of this generation missing opportunities to learn under the safeguards that graduated drivers license provides,” Averella said.

Teens in Maryland are eligible to obtain their learners permit when they are three months shy of their 16th birthday. They must hold that learners permit for nine months, graduate from an approved driver education school and maintain a conviction-free driving record before they can be eligible for a provisional license. Drivers become eligible for a full drivers license at 18 if they were conviction-free during their provisional driving period.

Maryland instituted the graduated system in 1999. All 50 states and Washington DC have driving laws that restrict teen driving in some form, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Averella said the increased requirements under graduated driving laws are not the primary reason for the decline in teens obtaining their licenses.

The national survey included 1,039 people between the ages of 18-20. Respondents listed a number of reasons for waiting to obtain their licenses including:

  • 44 percent said they did not have a car. 
  • 39 percent said they could get around without driving. 
  • 36 percent said gas was too expensive.
  • 36 percent said driving in general was too expensive.
  • 35 percent said they “just didn’t get around to it.”

“In many instances, it boils down to simple economics. Meeting the necessary driver’s education requirements to obtain a license can be an expensive venture, particularly for low-income teens,” Averella said.  “Driver’s education classes in public schools, once the primary method of teaching novice drivers to drive, are now a thing of the past.  Teens must now enroll in private-sector driving schools to complete their driver’s education requirements, which can create a financial burden on families, particularly in a recovering economy.”

AAA reported that low-income and minority teens are least likely to obtain a license before the age of 18. One-fourth of the teens living in a house where the income is less than $20,000 were licensed to drive before 18 compared to 79 percent of teens living in households with a total income of $100,000 or more.

The costs associated with driving classes can also be prohibitive. AAA estimates that the costs of driver’s education classes in Maryland range between $240 and $500. Tack on to that the costs of purchasing and maintaining a car, insurance and gas. 

“Driving is expensive these days, especially if you are a teen,” Avarella said.

In Perry Hall, about 800-900 students pass through the Perry Hall driving school. Owner Georgena Ewing said she has noticed declines at certain times of the year and noted that some of her competitors have gone out of business.

The reasons for the decline are not as simple as the AAA survey, she said. 

Ewing said that she sees more parents playing a part in delaying when their child gets a license.

In Maryland, parents are required to attend a drivers education orientation class with their children. Ewing said it is not uncommon for parents to hold off on allowing their child to obtain a license after attending the 90-minute session.

“Every kid wants their license ASAP,” Ewing said. “I think [parents] are waiting longer because they see driving as much more serious. When the parents get up and say, 'Oh my god, my kid’s not ready,' I feel like I’ve done my job.”


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