Technically, I'm 19, but I still don't have a license. It wasn't part of my plan growing up. I didn't one day think "I'm going to go to college, I'm going to get a great job, and I'm going to do it all without a driver's license."
In my life, I've been in four or five car accidents that I can remember, and I've watched my friends and family obtain serious injuries from them. At first, I was incredibly scared to get behind the wheel because I didn't want to put my life and someone else's life on the balance of four wheels. That wasn't appealing to me at all.
However, now I realize that isn't the only reason why I don't drive. I don't drive because I have made myself believe that I am too busy to learn how to drive. When I learn something, I learn about it completely. Meaning, I want to learn how each gear works in comparison to another and how that all works to make the car move and operate. Learning that would take years, and THAT is what I don't have time for. I'm a full time student with two jobs. I barely have time to sleep lately, let alone drive.
I've come to the realization that maybe driving just isn't for me. Like the other 24 percent of millennials without licenses, I hope to become accustomed to other forms of transportation. Taxi's, Uber's, the bus, the new Robot Taxi, and loving friends and family members are what I turn to to get around town.
It's incredible how many people are waiting longer to get their licenses. Almost 75 percent of 16 year old's go without licenses. At the age of 17, that number decreases to 50 percent. As years progress, the numbers lower to almost 10 percent between the ages of 25 and 29. These number are from 2014. And while I live in Kansas where everyone wants a driver's license so they can get out, I still believe the number of licensed drivers at the age of 16 is decreasing.
In an article by NPR, a student at Harold Washington College explains why they don't have a driver's license or a car.
"Honestly, at this point, it just doesn't seem worth it." Mr. Peter Rebecca has a good point. In what world would a 25-year-old need a car in a place as big as Chicago? Larger cities have more options than ones like mine. Wichita is a large city, but not as large as Chicago, New York City, or Los Angeles, not even close.
So, why? Why don't I have a license at the ripe age of 20, as I'm about to go into my third year of college? I don't know. But, I do know that I still have fun with my friends, I still get to school and work on time, and I want one eventually. Right now just isn't my time.
The information in this article is from the NPR article :Like Millennials, More Older Americans Steering Away From Driving, and from a study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
