CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
Remember when you first got your drivers license?
A lot of us were so excited, we counted down the days and got to the Secretary of State's office 20 minutes before it opened on our birthday. Ahh… the glory days.
But some young people aren't so excited about getting behind the wheel nowadays. A growing chunk of Generation Y isn't driving at all.
The federal government looked at people between the ages of 16 and 34.
In 2010, it found 26 percent of them didn't have a driver's license. That was a jump from 10 years earlier when 21 percent didn't have a license.
Those who are driving are driving less. From 2001-2009, the average number of miles driven by this age group fell 23 percent.
Meanwhile, older people have been driving more. In 2008, the largest age-group of drivers was people in their seventies.
So call it generation "Y (Why) drive?"
Studies found the young people are keen on public transportation and riding bicycles. They're also just staying put and using their phones and computers to get in touch.
Money is a major factor too. Costs are up, and much of the younger generation came of age in a recession. Many have never seen a good economy.
