Maybe you won't have to nag your teen for a while

Last week I wrote about nagging your teen into being a safe driver. Maybe you won't need to worry about that after all. As it turns out, we have less teen drivers today than we've had in decades.

I was a late-in-life driver for many reasons. I didn't have a compelling reason to learn to drive - I walked everywhere, didn't have a car and had enough friends in car accidents that I was very nervous about heading out in a killing machine on wheels. But eventually, my Mom got me an instructor (thanks, Mom!) and I passed my test in one go.

There are lots of reasons why teens today are not driving, including:

• Lack of jobs to help pay for their cars
• Being open to other forms of transportation
• Less need for face time with their friends in public places/more friends online

I'm not sure what the trends will be a decade from now when it is my son's turn to learn how to drive, but I find it encouraging. I am happy to play the role of his chauffeur for a long time.

How old were you when you learned to drive? Tell me in the comments.