In the USA, the number of youth taking a driving license or eager to learn driving is increasing by the day, despite the fact that all across the globe, the number of people driving cars on the roads is augmenting as well. Last year, Americans travelled record distances with motor cars. Earlier, having a driving license was considered to be a right, on the way of turning into an adult, but now, many people do not want a driving license.
From New York to Norway, local political leaders are passing anti-car laws across various cities, and rules are being made to mark an end to parking spaces and for the ease of pedestrians. With 100 years of cars ruling the roads of western countries, now the trend is changing. Back in 1997, 43% people aged 16 had a driving license. In 2020, this number fell down to 25%, with 1 out of every 5 Americans aged between 20 and 24 not having a license. As per latest statistics, the number of driving licenses has come down in every age category under 40.
Those who have a license are driving less, and between 1990 and 2017, the distance travelled by teenage drivers in the USA came down by 35%, and that travelled by people aged between 20 and 34 years has come down by 18%. People aged above this are driving more. A similar trend can also be seen in Europe. The ratio of teenagers driving in Britain has almost reduced to half. In the last 20 years, this has reduced from 41% to 21%. In the countries of European Union, there are more cars today than earlier, despite this, after the start of this century, the average of travelling by car has gone down by 10% in every country.
Across 5 European capitals of Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Paris, and Vienna, the working population has reduced driving. There are many reasons behind this reduction in driving, one of the reasons being the expansion of internet services. With things like online shopping and watching movies online at home, going out of the house has reduced. As per a report by West of England University’s professor, Dr. Kiran Chatterjee, this is happening because of factors like insecurity in jobs, less wages, more expenditure on education, and not having a home of own.
Another factor playing its role is the rise of taxi apps like Uber and Lift, and the premium of young drivers’ insurance being more. The inclination towards cars has also reduced because of the increasing concern towards the environment.
