Tue, May 13 2008
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Published April 03, 2008 06:40 pm - Remember the film “American Graffiti?” It asked you the question, “Where were you in 1962?” Driver’s license no longer necessary A ROBERT LEBZELTER column for April 6, 2008 Star Beacon Remember the film “American Graffiti?” It asked you the question, “Where were you in 1962?” If you were a teenager in 1962 or even 72 or 82 or 92, you were tooling around in your car, just like in the movie. Maybe yours wasn’t as shiny as the ones in the George Lucas movie, but teens — especially guys — were enamored with cars. They drove them, they worked on them, they got an after-school job to support them. We had gasoline stations on every block, lots of drive-in movie theaters and several new-car dealerships. Teens weren’t the only ones in love with their cars. The new-car dealerships were necessary because adults traded their vehicles in every two or three years. And what kid couldn’t wait to get his or her driver’s license? It meant freedom from the old man and old lady. It meant heading down the open road, going where you want to go, doing what you want to do. Non-satellite radio blaring. That was then. This is now. Getting your license and an automobile are no longer so important. Your identity isn’t decided by the vehicle you drive. It’s no longer, “George, is he the one who drives the 64 Mustang convertible?” Since 2000, the number of 16-year-olds with licenses has dropped from 54 to 47 percent in Ohio, according to Ohio Department of Public Safety statistics and U.S. census estimates. Nationally, the percentage dropped from 41 percent in 1996 to 29.8 percent in 2006, the Federal Highway Commission reports. Turns out kids don’t need cars so much anymore. And it’s pretty difficult to tool around town in your 57 Chevy with gasoline at $3.30 per gallon. First, kids communicate via cell phone. Everybody has one. They text each other. Why, they can even talk on them. New phones will have tracking devices, not so parents can keep track of their kids. It’s so kids can keep track of their friends. Everyone hops on their computers when they get home from school, too. 
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