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Pop Culture

It turns out Gen Z is resistant to driving and maybe they’re onto something

A growing number of young people say they're afraid to get behind the wheel.

Photo by JD Weiher on Unsplash

The percent of teens getting their driver's licenses has declined signifcantly.

If it feels like you're meeting more and more older teens and young adults who don't have their driver's license, it's not your imagination. Gen Z has been much less interested in driving than previous generations, according to Department of Transportation data shared by USA Today.

In 1983, about half of 16-year-olds had driver's licenses. By 2022, that number declined to about a quarter. During that same time, 18-year-olds with driver's licenses dropped from 80% to 60%.

There are some explanations for what's caused the drop. For one, thanks to video calling, young people don't need to drive to see each other like previous generations did. Even if they do get together in person, improvements in public transportation and the proliferation of ride share offerings like Uber and Lyft have made it easier to do so without a car. Driving is also expensive, especially when you take the higher insurance premiums of young drivers into account. Gen Z has grown up more environmentally conscious than previous generations, and have grown up hearing about the blight of carbon emissions on the planet.

But in addition to that, there appears to be a sharp increase in anxiety around driving, and some experienced adult drivers are defending those fears as warranted.

According to a survey of non-driving teens by insurance comparison website The Zebra, nearly 1 in 4 said that they haven't gotten a license because they are afraid to drive a car. While it's easy to chock that up to the general increase in mental health disorders among young people, the fear of driving may be warranted.

In our car dependent society, choosing not to drive might seem like an odd decision, but there may be some wisdom behind it. As a user on X posted, "Honestly, I don't understand why ppl shame teens for not wanting to know how to drive. Why do we act like it's not terrifying?" and many people shared their experiences of car accidents really messing them up.

Statistically speaking, driving is the most dangerous thing most humans do, and Americans do it more than any other nation. But because we drive so often, the risk factor isn't something we think about as much as maybe we should.

Young people learning to drive today are logically more aware of the risks than previous generations. Ask a boomer what they learned in Driver's Ed and it's a far cry from what Gen Z learns. Boomers didn't even have required seat belts when they learned to drive. Kids today have not only grown up with seat belts but with high tech car seats and various booster seat iterations specific to their age and size. Those safety restraints keep us all safer, of course, but they are also a constant reminder of the dangers inherent in being in a moving vehicle. Being a passenger is one thing, but the responsibility of being the driver of that moving vehicle is entirely another.

Driver education courses have also evolved over the years to include graphic warnings about driving under the influence and distracted driving, which previous generations only got a fraction of. The idea is to scare teens who believe they're immortal into understanding the danger that comes with doing those things, but for young people who are already prone to feeling anxious, seeing those terrifying scenarios can make the fear of driving worse. Most young people I've spoken to who have completed Driver's Ed but aren't in any hurry to get their license say that driving just makes them too nervous. Some of them have decided after a couple of years that they wanted their license, so it's just delayed a bit. Others don't have any plans to and seem to be doing fine with other ways of getting around.

Holding off on driving simply doesn't need to be viewed negatively, especially when the risks of driving are real. Driving may be a valuable skill to have, but there's no reason that skill has to be mastered by a certain age. If a good portion of Gen Z isn't feeling it and choose to walk or bike or carpool or use public transportation instead, more power to them. Those choices are more affordable and better for the environment anyway, so let's embrace the idea that choosing not to drive is a reasonable one and not judge or shame anyone for it.

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Humor

Teen upset with parents for not picking him up, tells comical story about his first Uber ride

"Then I get some random text from a random number talking about some 'Brenda's on the way,' I was like, 'my grandma Brenda?"

Iyonna Bland|TikTok

Teen tells comical story about his first Uber ride

Teenagers are an interesting bunch. They are still very much children and at times behave that way but they also want to be treated like adults. It's a paradox of behaviors that can sometimes result in parents getting lectured by their teen, which is exactly what happened to one couple when they couldn't pick up their son.

Iyonna Bland uploaded a video to TikTok showing her son Caleb starting to lecture his parents about not being there to pick him up from football practice. The parents are generally early to pick him up but on this day, Bland was stuck in meetings all day and her husband was also working unable to collect the teen from practice. Obviously, the teen was not left to fend for himself. Bland ordered an Uber for her son when they realized neither would be off in time to pick him up.

But Caleb was not impressed with their choices and decided to let them know exactly how he was feeling.

"I wasn't even supposed to talk to you today. I was supposed to have an attitude but I had to fake it, "Caleb says. "First of all, y'all already know I don't like no rain, so I'm sitting outside after football practice, after hours. Y'all were supposed to been there 15 minutes early."

The teen's mom can be heard laughing but he is still not amused, and looks like a parent scolding a child. Gosh darn it, mom take him seriously, he means business. Caleb goes on to explain that he's had football practice all week and one of his parents has been there early each day so he was expecting the same service. He's unmoved by the fact that his parents have to work to pay for the equipment and practice he's attending.

"Tell me why I call this man and he [his dad] treating me like he's Hollywood or something? Like he's rich. Mama he ain't even answer the phone, I called him twice. He ain't even answer the phone," Caleb complains.

The way this teen tells a story is hilarious and its hard to keep a straight face even when he's being serious because of how naturally comedic he is. It gets even harder not to laugh when he describes his first experience using Uber.

"Then I get some random text from a random number," he says. "Talking about some 'Brenda's on the way,' I was like, 'my grandma Brenda?"

@iyonnabland

I was in meetings all day for work so I couldn’t leave before yall go saying we neglecting our child he did get home safe #fypシ #foryou #foryourpage #fyp #blacktiktok #kidsoftiktok #boymomlife #parenting #funny #teens #uber

When he received the text saying Brenda was 10 minutes away, that's when he realized it was in fact not his grandmother that lives states away in Chicago. It was the Uber driver that his mom sent to pick him up but when Bland called to tell him Brenda was on her way to pick him up, he was immediately uninterested.

"So then you called me talking about 'Brenda about to come get you,' I'm like 'who is Brenda?' cause I'm not getting in the car," Caleb tells his mom.

Listening to him tell the story will leave you in stitches. Poor kid thought his parents forgot about him and Brenda was a kidnapper. That's one interesting first time Uber experience. But don't think dad got out of this lecture, Caleb expressed his thoughts in a follow up below.

@iyonnabland

Replying to @😜Sillylicious😝 #fypシ #foryou #foryourpage #fyp #blacktiktok #kidsoftiktok #boymomlife #parenting #funny #teens #momandson #momsoftiktok

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Joy

Uber driver stopped his fare to save people from a burning building in New York City

'You’d be surprised what any given moment can bring out in you.'

Courtesy of Jemimah Wei

Uber driver saves people from burning builidng

It's not every day your Uber driver stops the car to don a cape and become a hero. OK, there wasn't a cape, but there was certainly a hero. Recently, Fritz Sam was driving for Uber and he was on his way to drop his passenger off at LaGuardia Airport when he noticed flames spilling out of a brownstone window. Instead of continuing his route, he stopped to help.

You may be thinking, "What about the passenger?" Well, Sam consulted with his passenger before leaping into action. The passenger was Jemimah Wei, a 29-year-old writer, and she helped Sam yell up to the second story window to check for people still inside. Sam told PIX11, “Together we just started shouting, ‘Is anyone inside?’ Screaming at the top of our lungs, ‘Come out, come out, there’s a fire.’ I think I just made a decision at that moment to just go inside.” According to The Washington Post, when Sam made it into the building he saw a man and a woman, but the woman refused to move when he urged her to evacuate.

Sam told The Washington Post that convincing the woman to leave "took a little bit of negotiating." He told her, “I’m not leaving without you. If you’re not leaving, I’m not leaving.” He told the publication that the woman eventually left with him and made it safely outside. But Sam wasn't done, the man was still inside, so Sam went back in a second time.

Eventually, Sam was able to guide the man to safety, telling PIX11, “I held his arm because he was a little wobbly and we just walked to the front door. The officer was there. The first firefighter was coming through the door with a hose. So the professionals are here. I’m gonna get out.”

Thankfully, everyone was able to get out of the building safely and no one was injured in the fire, according to multiple news sources. Saving the people in the building was a community effort. Without realizing it, Sam gave his cellphone to a stranger before running into the building and he left his car in the road in front of a fire hydrant, he explained to CNBC.

According to CNBC, a stranger realized Sam's car was blocking the hydrant and was able to get his keys to move the car down the street. His phone was also returned and, surprisingly, he hopped back in his car to drop his passenger off at the airport.

Funnily enough, Sam apologized to Wei for the delay and was concerned he smelled like smoke, but Wei wasn't concerned, according to The Washington Post. “Firstly, you smell fine,” Wei recalled telling him. “And secondly, you just saved a life. Maybe multiple.”

Even after saving people from a burning building, Sam was still providing excellent customer service. Yes, she still made it in time for her 10 a.m. flight, because of course she did. What an amazing story!

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Uber announces new safety features, but are the changes too little, too late?

Uber doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation when it comes to keeping its riders safe. Its latest update could change that.

In a blog post, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi outlined a number of new features aimed at passenger safety, including the ability to dial 911 in-app and giving riders the opportunity to designate trusted contacts who will be able to access trip details.

Additionally, Khosrowshahi pledged a stronger driver screening process and announced an expansion of the company’s Safety Advisory Board, which will now include former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. The feature changes will be rolled out sometime this summer.

“Every day, our technology puts millions of people together in cars in cities around the world,” he wrote. “Helping keep people safe is a huge responsibility, and one we do not take lightly. That’s why as CEO, I’m committed to putting safety at the core of everything we do.”

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaks onstage at The New York Times 2017 DealBook Conference. Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times.

This may be little more than damage control and an effort to fight off existing and future lawsuits.

In 2016, an Uber driver in Chicago was charged with sexually assaulting an intoxicated passenger. The following year, another Chicago woman sued the ride-sharing service over sexual assault by a different driver. A Los Angeles Uber driver was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and kidnapping in 2017, and a Virginia driver was arrested in January 2018, again, for alleged sexual assault.

An Uber car in New York City. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

In 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities reviewed the records of 70,789 Uber and Lyft drivers, and found that 8,206 (or roughly 11%) failed a background check — some with serious and violent convictions on their records (51 of the rejected drivers were convicted sex offenders).

If not for the screening, the drivers could still be on the road today, as they had passed whatever background check system the ride-sharing companies used.

Late last year, two women brought a class-action lawsuit against Uber, arguing negligence and systemic corruption. The lawsuit reads, in part:

“Uber has done everything possible to continue using low-cost, woefully inadequate background checks on drivers and has failed to monitor drivers for any violent or inappropriate conduct after they are hired. Nothing meaningful has been done to make rides safer for passengers — especially women. This is no longer an issue of ‘rogue’ drivers who act unlawfully.”

Among other actions, the lawsuit called on the company to address its driver background screening system.

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