One of the main arguments against self-driving cars is that people won't want to give up their control of a vehicle. Turns out, maybe they do.
In fact, getting a driver's license has been getting less and less common since the 1980s, according to the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan.
Using data from the Federal Highway Administration, researchers found that, since 2011, the number of people between the ages of 16 and 70 who have a driver's license has dropped quite a bit.
The findings from the study were published today by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, two researchers who also published a study in 2011 reporting that millennials were not getting their licenses at the same rate as previous generations. The studies combined highlight the fact that Americans are becoming less interested in driving, or that more are moving into cities with better public transportation. In 2011, however, many argued that millennials were simply delaying getting their licenses. This new study suggests that may not be true.
In 1983, almost half of 16-year-olds had their licenses. Today, it's a lot closer to a quarter. In fact, there's a significant drop-off across all age ranges up to around 40, but the biggest changes are in younger generations. Not only that, but when you look at data between 2008 and now, fewer people are getting their licenses across all age ranges, except those older than 70, in which a similar number of people have their licenses.
While the researchers didn't divulge why there is such a significant drop-off, a survey suggested that a large portion of people who didn't have their licenses were simply too busy or didn't want to pay for maintaining a vehicle.
Via: Gizmodo
