Fewer teens rushing to get driver's license

Online social networking may be one reason why fewer teenagers are flocking for their driver's licenses, some say.

Once teens scrambled for the independence only an automobile could deliver, but nowadays, they hunker down in front of computers and chat with friends electronically.

That's from the teens' perspective. From their parents' view, it's a lot cheaper not having to insure a teenager behind the wheel, so there's no push to get the kids out of the nest and onto the highways.

Statistics from the Federal Highway Administration show that one in every three teens now has a license at 16. It used to be one of every two.

Closer to home, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles statistics say the number of teens of driving age, 15 through 19 slipped by more than 16,000 last year from the year before.

In 2008, 818,677 Florida teens of driving age had licenses compared with 802,231 last year.

In Hillsborough County, the number of driving-age teenagers also dipped in 2009 from the year before. State statistics say that last year, 56,418 teens got licenses, compared to 56,780 the year before.

The downward spike in teen drivers may be a good thing from a safety point of view.

"The longer kids wait to drive, the better off they will be," said David Teater with the National Safety Council, "and the safer we will be."

He became aware of the trend this week, he said, "and that's probably a good thing it's happening."

Car crashes among teens new to driving is the leading cause of death in that group, he said. "Driving is a difficult activity to learn," he said. Plus, teens that age have a problem sometimes with decision-making.

"It's hard for kids to understand risk," he said. "They are more likely to engage in risky behavior."

Donna Boston of Seminole is just now getting around to taking driver's education class more than four years after she first became available. She said her parents encouraged her to wait, and she's glad she did. She's 20.

"It's really not that big of a thrill," she said, "and there's a lot of bad drivers out there."

Aaron Dreher, owner of Safer Dixie Driving School in Largo, sees the trend firsthand.

"They just don't have any desire to do it," Dreher said. "I don't understand it, because I know when I was 16, I couldn't wait to get my license."

He said the reasons vary from the high cost of insuring teen drivers to teens being more interested in online networking than driving.

But there's another reason, said 17-year-old Reggie Sinon of Largo. Teens are just too busy.

He waited an extra year to get his license. The Northside Christian High School junior expects to get his license in June.

"I just wasn't in a rush," he said. "Plus, I felt like I'd be a better driver if I waited."

Sinon's mother, Deneen, said she didn't influence his decision but supports it.

"I was happy. As long as they can wait, I think it's better," she said. "I don't think their brain is developed to an adult brain, and so they don't think like an adult."

Statistics aside, the S & S Driving School in Tampa does have a large contingent of college age students taking the class, but the younger teen enrollment hasn't much changed over the year.

"We are seeing about the same numbers," said James Meier, one of the owners of the school on Casey road. He said he has noticed just a small percentage of 15- and 16-year-old teens putting off getting their licenses. He said it has been his experience that even though parents have to foot the bill for increased auto insurance, they are anxious to get their teenagers on the road.

"Most parents want their teens to get their licenses," Meier said, "so they won't have to drive them around."