No doubt there are economic roots. Apparently the auto industry believes that there is a cultural shift, too. See this article from the New York Times, "As Young Lose Interest in Cars, G.M. Turns to MTV for Help," about efforts to turn that around:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/business/media/to-draw-reluctant-young-buyers-gm-turns-to-mtv.html?_r=2&hp or http://goo.gl/ovxhf (Which article does also make reference to economic issues.) My personal experience with my kids is that they just don't see a car as freedom in the same way that my generation did. Daughter, now 21, made half-hearted attempts to get trained up, but her permit expired before she got around to taking a driving test, not that she would have been ready. My 17 year-old son has shown *no* interest. It's more like getting wisdom teeth removed- probably have to happen, but what's the hurry? On Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 6:23 PM, Patrick Lenon <[email protected]> wrote: > Art, hate to be a spoilsport, but there may be class and economic factors > in play here. In particular I'm wondering about the availability of > Drivers' Education classes for poorer folks. > > When I went to high school Drivers' Ed, including behind the wheel > training, was part of basic (=free) curriculum. You had to pay your > license fee and find a car for your test, not much of a barrier even if the > family didn't own a car. Now, in Madison at least, there is no free public > training that I'm aware of, and drivers' ed courses cost $400-$500. Not to > mention you have to get the student to the classes, which are not at the > school. I'd expect there to be some option for low-income students, but I > haven't seen one for this. > > If kids are choosing to forego drivers' licenses, fine. But a driver's > license is an economic resource and a requirement for many jobs. If the > people not getting licenses are predominantly lower income, I can't see > this as good news. > > If somebody has solid information about who's not getting licenses or why, > I would appreciate your sharing it. > -- Scott M. Rose West Point Grey, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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