OT: My thoughts exactly...

Stupid article.

Perhaps you might have noticed that teenage auto insurance rates are rather high? Annual cost of adding a teenagers to your insurance policy: 16-year-old - $3,989 17-year-old - $3,522 18-year-old - $3,148 19-year-old - $2,178 20-year-old - $1,945 Typically, the insurance addition is 2 to 3 times that of their (individual) parents. Why bother learning to drive if one can't afford to do it (legally)?

Teenagers are the highest risk drivers and boys are more expensive than girls:

Perhaps boys are becoming less dangerous behind the wheel than their parents: or perhaps car design is simply becoming better at keeping them alive? Or perhaps common sense and simple economics has finally caught up with todays teenagers?

Incidentally, correlation does not imply causation. Just because teenagers today use smartphones more than their parents doesn't mean that the change in teenage driving is directly caused by smartphone use. For example, here's "proof" that the number of kids killed by their parents correlates fairly well with the number of non-commercial US space launches:

Interesting, a "hotair" editorial title I actually agree with. Except for some reason the article seems to be about teenagers not wanting to drive, which in many urban areas is completely understandable as the roads are overcrowded with psychopathic tailgaters and drunks. I never knew my maternal grandfather - he was killed by a drunk when my mother was 8.

But yeah in general "kids" in their 20s and 30s just stare into their phones all day, even when they're out at restaurants or concerts or other places people used to be social, and it's incredibly lame.

"Independence" isn't worth the risk of getting dragged out of your car and beaten with a tire iron, as happened to a friend of a friend who was in a collision with some drunk teenagers in a Jeep many years ago.

Also maybe a car was a ticket to "adventure" in 1963 or something, but at the moment there isn't much of anything within a 100 mile radius of me but suburban sprawl, strip malls, and Outback Steakhouses - seen one you've seen 'em all. It's not that interesting and not really worth spending time driving to if you don't have to for work.

And as you mention car prices and ownership costs have outstripped the rate of inflation by about 2-3 times, they're a hassle to fuel and maintain, and the depreciation curve is ridiculous.

Who needs a destination? When I was a teen, we would just cruise the country roads. But it may have had something to to with having a convenient place to partake in the use of an evil herb.

Mikek

Certainly viable entertainment when the only thing going on at home are reruns of Red Skelton on a black and white tube TV, but these days teens have plenty of better entertainment options.

On the plus side, drinking and drug use among teens has been in decline for many years. Video games are cheaper.

Modern driving sucks. Look at how things have changed. I couldn't wait to g et my drivers license. First places I used to go was the video arcade and a fterwards Friendly's for soda's. When I turned 18, it was senior parties an d after that bars. Video arcades are history, the drinking age is now 21, a nd throwing a senior party is throwing your parents in jail. The population back in 1967 was 200k. It's now 300k. We traded wide open spaces for crowd ed urban places. We don't drive, we sit in traffic. Modern cars are lame, g as is expensive and you can't fix cars yourself without specialized compute rs and equipment. Driving ain't what it used to be.

I had no interest in the 'evil herb'... just female attributes >:-} ...Jim Thompson

I-95 between Providence and Boston is one perpetual traffic jam from 5 in the morning until past midnight, 7 days a week.

Yep. I used to enjoy driving. Now, it's mostly a chore... though I do enjoy driving fast >:-}

As for repairs... you used to be able to climb into the engine compartment and stand beside the block and work on it. I grew up in the era where you needed to grind your valves at least once a year ;-)

Now you flip open the hood and you can't even see the engine. ...Jim Thompson

And more addictive than some drugs. Mikek

Ya, I got my first car, a 62 Ford Falcon Futura for $200 when I was 15. I'm sure I put 50 miles on it in a 50ft driveway. Back and forth, back and forth! Asteroids was my game of choice. Mikek

My first car was a 1950 Nash, with the reclining front seats that made into a bed ;-) ...Jim Thompson

My first car was a 1989 Chevy Celebrity, which already had around 90k miles on it by the time I got it. It had the Iron Duke inline 4 - the same one used in those LLV mail trucks.

What a piece of shit, but I loved the ol' girl.

Cities are denser than they used to be, and parking is often discouraged. High-rises here average about 0.5 parking spots per unit. Lots of kids are Uber types, don't want a car. That makes sense for lots of people.

And add oil every thousand miles. And clean/gap plugs and file points regularly.

And cars are far, far more reliable now. The only maintanance I do on my car myself is top off the windshield washer fluid. No more dirty fingernails.

Same here :-[ Plus they (Infiniti) provide me with a 'free' loaner and wash my car when they're done servicing it. ...Jim Thompson

You're just a playboy, Jim. Mikek PS. My next vehicle was a truck with a cap, framed out with a bed and a sink. Mikek

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Remember when it was illegal to pump your own gas?

But you did get your oil checked and windshields cleaned.

I've pulled into those random "full service" gas stations before by mistake and it's weird, like the guy just comes out and pumps your gas while you sit there? Bizarre. I usually tip a dollar or two because I figure that's what you're supposed to do, like a waiter or something?

Don't really understand it.