Delayed driving

More teens are delaying driving than in previous generations, but it doesn’t mean they’re safer. That’s according to research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2021. It remains the industry-standard report on factors contributing to teens delaying licensure and the outcomes. Teen driver safety experts and educators nationwide say the trend continues, citing economics and anxiety as top reasons.

“I’ve probably heard the word anxiety more than any other word when I inquire of a parent or a student,” says Ken Hanna—the “Drive Coach”—who’s owned a driving school in Spartanburg, S.C., for 27 years. “It’s an issue in our society. We see it in the public school system every day. It has nothing to do with driving.” Some teens simply don’t want the added stress of learning to drive.

Pam Shadel Fischer agrees. She’s senior director of external engagement with Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). For more than 40 years, she’s spoken with parents and teens nationwide and hears the same thing: Kids aren’t excited to drive and many are nervous.

That fear isn’t unwarranted. Driving is dangerous, particularly for teens. “They are the riskiest age group out there when getting behind the wheel,” Fischer says. “And that is based on immaturity and inexperience.”

But while it might seem beneficial to allow teens more time to mature, delaying licensure may not be the safest choice. A 2023 Governor’s Highway Safety Report found that drivers licensed at 16 had a 14% lower crash rate in their first year of driving ­compared to those licensed at 18. For 17-year-olds, the rate was 6% lower. The report attributes this discrepancy to Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). Every state has GDL requirements and provisions in place for novice drivers, gradually providing more freedom. For example, GDL requires permit drivers to achieve a minimum number of driving hours. Newly licensed drivers are limited on passengers and nighttime driving hours. But these rules vary based on age, and in every state except Maryland and New Jersey, teens age out of GDL at 18.

This means teens who delay driving too long miss out on the safety benefits particularly under GDL. “It is truly the most effective tool we have in the toolbox,” Fischer says. She explains when families understand GDL, it provides the guidance both parents or guardians and their teens need to ease them into driving. It’s designed to overcome both immaturity and inexperience. Parents and guardians should be informed about the risks of missing out, especially due to anxiety. If parents wait until the teen is ready, that day may never come. A nudge when they’re younger might be the safer route.

But there’s no slowing time, and even hesitant teens eventually reach adulthood. Hanna says older novice drivers who attend his school have realized that to flourish in our society, they have to drive in spite of their fear. These adults in particular would have benefited from GDL.

Hanna wants all hesitant teens to know, “You can do it.” The Drive Coach motivates with honesty and encouragement: “Driving is the absolute, best thing that anybody can do, especially a young person. It’s dangerous. It’s scary at times, but it’s beneficial to everybody. And it’s just the first real responsibility I think kids have.”