Teens aren’t driving anymore?
By Hannah Stephens
You’ve just turned 16, and you race down to the DMV to take your driving test. You have been practicing careful driving since you were 15; this is your big moment. You’ve been waiting so long for a license- or have you? More teens nowadays are not as focused on getting their licenses as soon as possible, but why?
Photo of driver taken from Flickr.com
Current Owasso students honestly answer why driving isn’t enticing to today's youth.
Junior Sophie Vang explains that, “[people] probably don’t have a job to pay for their gas and stuff, and they probably still do live with their parents, so their parents could be transportation for them.”
Despite this, she still wants to get her license eventually.
Vang states, “I do not have my license yet because I am working on getting a car first. So it would be better if by the time I had a car already, I’m getting my permit and my license so I can practice in the car I want to drive in.”
Sometimes life gets in the way of your goals. Obviously, when everything was shut down during the pandemic, it delayed everyone from working toward these monumental moments.
Junior Samuel Marshall recounts, “I don’t have my license yet because, well, COVID pretty much. Stuff kept getting me delayed to getting my permit, so I was only able to get my permit recently. I think being stuck inside everybody was like, ‘Well it doesn’t matter too much now because I’m stuck inside,’ so they didn’t get it right away.”
Other times, it might not be the pandemic slowing someone down, just a few misconceptions.
Sophomore Thomas Moody-Buff sadly explains, “My mom told me that if I go for my license at 16, I wouldn't have to get a permit, but she was wrong, so I've completed driver's ed, and now I just need to schedule my permit test.”
While many people eventually want to get their license, it also makes one wonder about all of the better ways of transportation. Senior Ryan Johnson believes that getting a license creates more of an environmental issue.
Johnson frankly states, "Nowadays, it’s very easy to hitch a ride with someone else. I haven’t got my license yet because I believe the roads are way too dangerous, and there are better ways to travel.”
Overall, driving is still important to teenagers, but getting a license right away is not everyone’s main focus anymore. Things take away your attention from getting it, or maybe it doesn’t fit into your plans. Perhaps you're not cool with the overall environmental toll that comes with driving individual cars. While many flock to the DMV right when they turn 16, there are many others that have thought, “Maybe I’ll wait on this one.”