Licensed to Ride

Percentage of 16-year-olds licensed to drive has dropped

Posted at 4:52 PM on 25 Feb 2008

The percentage of 16-year-olds with a U.S. driver's license has decreased sharply in the last decade, from 43.8 percent in 1998 to 29.8 percent in 2006. Rising insurance costs, expensive driver education, and an increase in indoor pastimes are more likely to be driving the trend than environmental awareness -- and sure, most yoots still get around in four-wheeled transportation, chaffeured by parents and friends. But at the very least, we suspect that fewer kids with a license means fewer cars idling for hours while teens grope in the back.

source: The New York Times

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	Read more about: cars \| green living \| news \| parenting \| placemaking \| all of these topics Tools: print \| email \| write to the editor \| subscribe \| RSS Share: digg \| hugg \| stumbleupon \| reddit \| newsvine \| fark \| facebook Bookmark: del.icio.us \| google \| yahoo Licensed to Ride Percentage of 16-year-olds licensed to drive has dropped Posted at 4:52 PM on 25 Feb 2008 The percentage of 16-year-olds with a U.S. driver's license has decreased sharply in the last decade, from 43.8 percent in 1998 to 29.8 percent in 2006. Rising insurance costs, expensive driver education, and an increase in indoor pastimes are more likely to be driving the trend than environmental awareness -- and sure, most yoots still get around in four-wheeled transportation, chaffeured by parents and friends. But at the very least, we suspect that fewer kids with a license means fewer cars idling for hours while teens grope in the back. source: The New York Times ADVERTISING POLICY < Previous \| Next > Comments: There are no comments. Be the first to post! You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five. Username: Password: Forgot your password? Enter your username and click: The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?	Also in Grist Be Cool Is it better to use AC or fans? Umbra advises. Take a Page Out of My Book What the leaders of the green movement are reading. Good Home Cooking A bean soup recipe, and how one author coped with a finicky family. Cover the Waterfront A list of green books you can actually read at the beach. The Week's Most Popular Viewed Commented Emailed Ask Umbra on fans versus AC 15 green books you can actually read at the beach An interview with author James Howard Kunstler Ask Umbra on exerting yourself in traffic Only if you flagrantly cherry pick More than half of today's electricity, more than 16 percent of today's energy Lester Brown unveils plan for 80 percent cuts by 2020 McCain just not that into Amtrak BLM reverses stance on solar-project moratorium 15 green books you can actually read at the beach Chemical in flat-screen TVs is worsening climate change How the organic movement can regain its relevance Ask Umbra on fans versus AC An interview with author James Howard Kunstler From the Archives The Clean's List. Governors are of varying minds when it comes to clean energy. Welcome to the Mile-High Club. Virgin Airlines flies first biofuel-powered plane, enviros unimpressed. Threatened to the Gills. World fisheries still in danger of imminent collapse, says U.N. News Archives