Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Cars

Goodbye, James Dean: Young Men Reject America’s Car Obsession

12:29 PM EDT on June 29, 2012

Phineas Baxandall is a senior analyst at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. This piece was originally posted on Huffington Post.

Just released official data show that Americans drove a billion fewer miles in April 2012 compared to April 2011, despite a slightly better economy. It's now well known that Americans, led by youth, have been reducing their driving since the middle of last decade.

Less known is that the biggest shift away from driving comes from young men, the demographic group traditionally most obsessed with cars.

First to recap. After a six-decade trend of ever-increasing driving, Americans as of 2011 drive 6 percent less per capita than in 2004. As the Frontier Group and U.S. Public Interest Research Group found earlier this year, the decline is particularly strong among young people. Americans between 16 to 34 years of age drove a whopping 23 percent fewer miles in 2009 than 2001. These same youth meanwhile increased their bicycle riding by 24 percent and increased their miles rode on public transit by 40 percent.

2012-06-28-vmttrend.png

Comparing this data between the sexes provides new insights on the broader shift. Men of all age groups still drive more miles than women, largely because they are more likely to commute to a job. But young men reduced their miles more than twice as fast as their female counterparts between 2001 and 2009. Vehicles miles travelled by women fell by over 13 percent during this period to an average of 7,111 miles in 2010. Miles driven by men during these years fell from 12,434 to 8,769, a drop of 29.5 percent.

The standard bearers for America's obsession with driving are now leading the charge against it.

Young men have even become less likely than young women to hold a driver's license. Back in 2000, men of every age group were more likely than women to have a driver's license. But by 2010, men were less likely than women to have a driver's license for every youth age group. Overall, the number of Americans 14-64 years of age without a driver's license rose from 21 percent in 2000 to 26 percent in 2012.
2012-06-28-DL400gendertrendchart400x355.jpg

Young men have traditionally been an anchor for a car-focused culture. Since World War II, guys have traditionally been identified with their vehicles. The automobile has represented a path to independence, an enhanced peer status and adventurous road trips. Boys dreamed of what model their first car would be and referred to other guys by the types of cars they drove. Social boundaries were defined by who had access to wheels and who rode with them. Think of your favorite James Dean movie or the TV show Happy Days.

Undoubtedly, a contributing factor leading to larger reductions in driving among men has been the relatively larger employment losses suffered by men during the recession. The shift away from driving, however, is about more than short-term economics. The reduction in miles driven started years before the economic downturn or increased gas prices. Data also show that affluent and employed youth have decreased their driving as well.

Regardless of the gender mix behind the wheel, lawmakers need to catch up with the times. This week the U.S. House and Senate agreed on a multi-year transportation spending bill that turns the clock back by further prioritizing highways over other modes of travel. Congress should stop trying to enlarge their grandfather's highway system and should instead focus investment on improving transit and other transportation alternatives. The infrastructure that gets built today will mostly be used in the decades ahead by today's youth. And James Dean isn't among them.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Are All About Pete

From trying to avert a government shutdown to promoting rail safety, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in the midst of a busy week.

September 25, 2023

What is the Life of a Dead Pedestrian Worth?

A Seattle police officer sparked outrage when he joked that the death of pedestrian Jaahnavi Kandula might be settled for as little as $11,000. Some families get even less.

September 25, 2023

Why Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled Matters

“Our job now is to prioritize solutions that mitigate the impacts of climate change while equitably improving quality of life. To do so we need to rethink how we build so Californians can drive less."

September 22, 2023

Friday’s Headlines Are Tired Out

Whether it's from degradation or the dust resulting from wear and tear, it's becoming increasingly clear that tire and brake emissions are harmful, perhaps even exceeding tailpipe emissions.

September 22, 2023

Study: What Road Diets Mean For Older Drivers

"After a road diet, all motorists seem to drive at a rate that feels comfortable to a mildly-impaired older adult."

September 22, 2023
See all posts