As of 2024, British citizens are more mobile than ever, with the average person commuting between cities or villages regularly for work, school or recreation. And yet - fewer and fewer young people are learning to drive, including in Croydon, a borough of what is arguably Britain’s most significant city. In the last decade, multiple tabloid and broadsheet articles have been published debating this issue, with some criticising young people for their laziness in failing to learn. As someone who has started driving lessons this academic year, I have to disagree. How can the decline in learning really be blamed on a lack of motivation when driving has changed so drastically since my parents were learning? 

Firstly, the layout of the areas where Britain’s young people of today would be potentially learning to drive must be explored. Urbanisation across Britain reached a high of 84.4% in 2022, with an increase in outer London - where Croydon is located - of 19% between 2001 and 2019. This means that there are more roundabouts, more pedestrian crossings, and that there is more traffic. These are all features of the road that beginner drivers are likely to struggle with. Who can argue that my parents, learning to drive in then-rural Yorkshire and Oxfordshire respectively, are not less likely to have faced obstacles on the road than me, crawling at 20 miles an hour through central Croydon? This issue is intensified by the fact most students would be taking lessons after school ends between 3 and 4pm (mine at 3:45) - a time which would interact with the rush hour, the busiest hour of the day. Therefore, the unavoidable nature of these obstacles could potentially put prospective learners off. One of my fellow Year 12 students, Jess, admits that she ‘wouldn’t mind driving’... if the traffic wasn’t ‘so aggressive’.

However, even if there were no issues with the process of learning to drive, this would not affect the simple fact that the skill is no longer as necessary as it used to be. After all, the effects of Britain’s rapid urbanisation over the last decade have not been entirely negative. Compared to the 20th century, cities have far more public transport facilities (with TFL having been founded in 2000). Almost every area - from cities to villages - has trains, trams and buses. These options are also more affordable, with 16-17 year olds such as myself travelling for free through TFL, and young adults who are students getting significant discounts. In contrast, even a second hand car can cost thousands of pounds…and may not last long.

Perhaps future speculation on the driving of young people can focus on why driving is no longer always the best option for them, and not how they have failed.