Driving

The Trib ran an article about the decline in 16 year olds that have driver’s licenses. The point seemed to be a Rah-rah for Illinois stricter standards for the under-18 crowd to earn them, as there has been a drop in crash fatalities. What I found interesting was the rationale of the teenagers that are waiting.


When I was 16, there was nothing. more. important. Than having a driver’s license. Nothing on Earth. For serious. Factoring in that my dad gave me his old Bronco, my parents paid for gas and insurance and I had an over-developed desire for independence - I loved driving more than anything.

So I was really interested to hear that these kids aren’t quite bothering to go through the process:

“Waiting until they turn 18 is a way for teens to opt out of graduated driver licensing. In Illinois and many other states, when an individual turns 18, he or she can walk in to a driver's license facility, pass the road, written and eye tests and walk out with a license.”

Well. That just seems lazy to me.

However, many kids said that since they can’t afford a car anyway, why bother to jump through the hoops. Some won’t have the permit hours completed. That one makes sense to me – what parent has 50 hours of time to sit in the passenger seat with a kid. Factor in that some parents are really bad at this – such that it is just better for the kid not to drive with that parent – and a great big part of the burden falls on one person.

So they have friends that drive. Or they ride their bikes. One kid said he goes everywhere on rollerblades. Good for them, I think.

But I’ve been driving for 20 years and still..there are few things that make me as happy as the open road.