By Christopher A Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(August 10, 2016) Take a look a the picture below. Yes, she’s an attractive young British woman. However, Elizabeth Oakley is more than a pretty face. At age 29 she’s a first-time driver, and trying to juggle a full-time job, learning how to drive, passing her driving test, and finding a car that meets her needs. She’s also one more thing: one of many hitting the road for the first time after turning 25.

In a study conducted for the U.K.’s AutoTrader new and used car marketplace and RED, one of Britain’s largest driving schools, researchers discovered that 44% of first-time drivers are over the age of 25.

Of that group, 56% expected to be driving at an earlier age, while 11% claimed to have started working toward getting on the road at age 17, but still haven’t made it. Auto Trader’s Editor in Chief, Jon Quirk, said, “Our research reveals that getting on the road can be a daunting experience for first time drivers, and it’s something that becomes a bigger challenge as the years go on.”

At the other end of the spectrum, the number of people aged 17-20 applying for their driving license has dropped 21% in the last nine years, to the point where this group makes up only 34% of first-time drivers. The reason of this decline is cost. Young drivers say that they haven’t the money necessary to buy a vehicle once they compete their training. This is consistent with a stagnant global jobs market, and with automaker research that shows young drivers today are at least three years behind the point previous generations were at the same age.

The study also showed that the motivation for learning to drive changes as first-time drivers get older. While 29% say they just want to get this right of passage out of the way, 43% claim that family needs are driving the decision. This extends from older family members tired of driving their aging children around (an admittedly small group), to the need to provide for and transport members of their own growing families.

Unfortunately, 52% of these folks admit to lacking confidence in their driving skills, while half are concerned about fitting the process into their increasingly busy schedules.

The Virtual Driver