Driverless cars eagerly awaited by younger generation!
While non-millennials have mixed feelings at best about driverless cars, a study shows that younger generations eagerly await autonomous vehicles.
With the advent of these driverless cars in the near future, combined with sophisticated public transport systems in the developed world, many of the younger generation don’t even bother to get their driver’s license. It seems that the younger generation aren’t as interested in their ability to drive cars, as they were in previous generations.
Or maybe I’m jumping the gun here – it’s more likely that this trend will only fully develop in the following generation. For the foreseeable future, any driverless cars will still actually require there to be an individual with a valid driver’s license, whether he’s driving or not. Just in case something goes wrong. Although I think there will come a time when it is generally considered way too dangerous for humans to actually drive themselves!
The study conducted by a team at The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, has tracked the percentage of people who owned driver’s license from 1983 until 2014. After which they categorised and sorted these findings based on age, groups and various factors. The results show a clear trend.
Fewer and fewer people are driving and this is trend is only increasing over time. The age group that is most affected is the youngest, with ages ranging from 16 – 44. Showing an increasing decline over time.
The study also reveals that the number of drivers between the ages of 45 – 69 years old, increased up until 2008 and then started to gradually decline as well. At the moment though it is still higher than it was in 1983. (As a percentage of population)
The most significant change was seen at the youngest possible age to drive, so 16 in the US. In 1983, 46.2% of American teenagers would be legally allowed to drive, dropping to 27.5% in 2011. Further dropping to 24.5% in 2014.
It’s clear that the desire younger generations feel towards driving a car themself, is certainly less than it was before. While this is not solely attributable to driverless cars, it certainly plays a part!
With less and less people driving cars, the demand for driverless cars will only be getting greater and greater!
Source: Autoevolution