Driving was once seen as a “rite of passage”, or symbol of freedom. This view has changed as many people in the upcoming generations do not see driving the same way. In the article “Forget cars, millennials don’t even want drivers licenses”, this point is clearly argued. Not wanting a driver’s license has become a common practice because nowadays there are more things that a person would rather do than go through the lengthy process of getting a driver’s license .
If your age group is considered to be millennials you most likely know a decent amount of people who don’t have their licence even if they’re of age to obtain one. A major reason for this is getting a driver’s license is very stressful and time consuming, which makes it seem like more of a burden than a symbol of freedom. The process to get your license starts off with taking a test at your local DMV to get a permit. These tests are generally straightforward and are pretty easy. The problem that comes along with this is that you have to drive with a parent or licenced driver for six months. From a millennials standpoint this would be the complete opposite of freedom.
According to the article, the new generation of people live in an era where life is all about convenience and driving with a parent for six months after passing a test is not in any way convenient. On top of the sixth month wait, millennials are constantly bombarded with a sense that the road test you have to take in order to get your licence is nearly impossible. This causes a lot of stress and frustration which makes a person second guess getting a license. After a person has successfully passed their road test they still have many restrictions such as a curfew.
This curfew only allows a driver to drive during certain hours of the day as they still do not have a senior license. In anyone’s eyes this can be seen as unfair for the time and money a person has had to spend on acquiring everything up to this point. However the most important reason why millennials do not want to take the time to get their driver’s license anymore is that they would rather have other people or have companies such as uber take them to where they need to be. This is a more efficient way of travel as it is cheaper and a person is able to get things they need done while they commute to their destination.
Finally as technology advances millennials are able to get a further sense on whether or not a driver’s license is beneficial to them. This is one of the major reasons why less and less people are getting their license.
All in all millennials are less likely to get a driver’s license as the viewpoint of receiving one has changed from it being a “rite of passage”, to it becoming more of a burden. With the forever increasing technology and the ideas of getting a driver’s license changing many people will side with the millennials on their journey to pave a new path in how people prefer to be transported.