Drivers are not dying out any time soon
02/19/2021
Young talent is important for the classic car scene and it is often said that young people no longer want to drive, that they no longer even bother to get a driver's license. But is that even true?
According to recent Swiss data, the proportion of 19 to 24-year-olds taking the driving test is actually falling. In 1994, it was 71%, then 67% in 2000, 59% in 2010 and finally just 58% in 2019. But that's still more than half of all young people! And some even take the test later, when they have more money, because driving lessons are no longer as cheap as they used to be, especially as learner drivers need more of them nowadays.
In Germany, the car driving license is even more popular among young people before their 25th birthday. According to data from 2017, an average of around 80% still take the driving test. The regional differences are large, but only in Berlin and other large cities does the proportion fall below 60%, while in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, for example, over 90% of young adults learn to drive.
So for many young people, driving is still one of those things that you simply have to be able to do, just like swimming or cycling.
Of course, this doesn't mean that young people's enthusiasm for cars is as great as it once was for many of today's classic car enthusiasts, but at least we have a knowledge base to work with. Now it's up to us gray-haired folks to get the generation after next excited about the historic automobile, or at least the cars that still require real driving skills to use.
Here are two more sources that were consulted for this short article: Mobility Switzerland press release dated 17.2.2021, GDV media information dated 11.10.2018)
P.S. We would like to thank the RAID organization for the picture, which has been promoting young classic car drivers and welcoming them to its rallies for many years ...
