Being young has always been hard. Sure, it has its perks – more energy, first loves, first everythings – but I feel for the under-25s with still so many life hurdles left to clear. With the list of current social ills ranging from the housing crisis to social isolation and the any-day-now background note of environmental doom, I think it’s fair to say it’s not easy for young people today.
So when research last week from MoneySuperMarket found that driving age under-25s were costing their parents £1,300 a year in additional fuel from being ferried around – sparking unpleasant commentary about feckless young people “refusing” to drive – I found myself thinking: “Leave the kids alone, they’re doing their best!”
That is not to dismiss the additional burden on parents. Fuel prices are some of the highest ever recorded. And with only one in four 17 to 20-year-olds holding a driving licence compared to one in two in 1989, many families will be feeling it. The reason why? Getting on the road costs an obscene amount: an average of £7,600 with hikes in insurance and car prices included, which, once adjusted, is well over double the cost in 1989. Few young people today will have access to that sort of cash so will wait until they are older and earning more.
I know, because I did. I passed my driving test six years ago, just weeks before my 30th birthday. I remember it well: the fail for hesitation, the fail for being pushy, the guilt about spending more on lessons because I’d failed. But then – the pass! The ecstasy of a first automatic machine car-wash – the ASMR sound of success! Trust me, it may be later in life but this rite of passage still zings the same. Just offer your thirtysomething non-driver friend a lift home, or take them to a drive-thru and see the love in their eyes. You are suddenly the coolest person in sixth form. Just 15 years later.
Fortunately, while some gripe about young should-be drivers, people are more kind on TikTok. Driving instructors use the site to share tips and there is a trend of “elder” TikTok influencers (and by that I mean, 28-year-olds) sharing their failures and passes to encourage younger learners. Personally, I feel this may be my calling. So maybe someone needs to hear this: “Hey, driver in progress, please know, you aren’t a failure. You may have taken a wrong turn but you’re on the right track.”
• Coco Khan is a freelance writer and co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK
