Study: More teens getting licenses
Traffic Safety Pulse News
Nationwide, more than 60 percent of teens got their driver's license before they turned 18, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. That's an 11 percent increase since 2012, likely driven by the nation's continued economic recovery.
The new report reveals a starkly changing trend in teen licensure from initial AAA research in 2012, which indicated teens were increasingly waiting to get their driver's license. At the time, the country was just emerging from a recession and many young people cited their family's inability to afford the high cost of driving as a reason why they did not obtain their license sooner.
"Teen licensing trends have changed a lot over the past decade," said AAA Colorado spokesman Skyler McKinley. "The good news is that many teens are now getting licensed before they turn 18, which means more of Generation Z is learning to drive under the protection of state graduated driver licensing programs and parental supervision."
