Licence to text

By Kate Lunau, Maclean’s

Fewer young people are learning to drive. The biggest reason is the Internet – it’s replacing the need for a car.

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Fewer drivers makes it harder to hire

Wallace Immen, The Globe and Mail

A driving licence and the freedom of the open road is no longer a top priority for young people, who face high housing costs and soaring tuition. A survey by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute this summer found that while 80 per cent of Americans and Canadians between 17 and 19 had a driver’s licence three decades ago, today it’s closer to 60 per cent.

In fact, there’s been a steady decline in licensed drivers in every age group over the past 15 years. In addition to costs, our addiction to online connectivity “reduces the need for actual contact,” researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle theorized.