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September 5, 2008 10:10:21 PM CDT

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Teens Brake on Driving at 16

Posted Feb 25, 08 4:24 PM CST in US,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Turning 16 has long been a rite of passage, but many teens are holding off on that first ticket to freedom: the driver's license. The percentage of 16-year-olds licensed nationwide fell from 43.8% in 1998 to 29.8% in 2006, the New York Times reports. States are tightening underage driving laws even as families balk at the rising costs of insurance and driver's ed.

The lure of the Internet is keeping teens indoors and unlicensed, while parents' willingness to chauffeur their kids for safety's sake keeps many youngsters happily in the passenger seat. “I get rides and stuff, so I’m not worried about it," said one Michigan 17-year-old. "I’ll get around to it, maybe this summer sometime.”

Source New York Times

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Rising costs and tighter state laws have contributed to the decline in teen driving.   (Shutter Stock)
Anna Kinderman, 17, and her mother, Bette Kinderman, show off a small camera that is installed near the rear-view mirror to record unsafe "events" when the teenager drives, Sept. 23, 2007, in Madison,...   (Associated Press)
The national rate of licensed 16-year-olds dropped from 43.8% in 1998 to 29.8 percent in 2006.   (Shutter Stock)
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Internet  • teenagers  • driving  • car accident  • driver's license  • auto insurance  • teenage drivers


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