TODAY’S KIDS HAVE NO DRIVE!

Gen Z rejects cars

They’re already abstaining from drugs, booze, and sex — now new data show Gen Z are also opting out of driving.

While obtaining a license was a rite of passage for previous generations, Zoomers are refusing to get behind the wheel in record numbers. Just 25% of 16year-olds and 45% of 17-yearolds have a license today, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Back in 1997, 43% of 16-yearolds and 62% of 17-year-olds were already on the road.

“Maybe they don’t want to drive because they’re looking for a sustainable option, such as public transportation, ridesharing, or e-scooters,” analysts at McKinsey wrote in a recent report about the confusing trend.

It’s the economy!

Experts at the consulting firm theorized that the economy, in addition to the environment, could also be factors.

“It’s also possible that a sputtering economy and inflation tinged their entry into adulthood, discouraging spending on big-ticket items such as cars,” the analysts wrote.

The cost of new cars has soared by 30%, while the price of used cars has also revved up.

However, The Post previously profiled Zoomers who say a lack of maturity has stopped them from heading to the DMV.

“Having COVID hit when I was 16 and in the middle of my high school career completely stopped my [mental] age progression and maturity,” college freshman Paige Gartland told The Post last year.

She added that driving just “doesn’t seem that necessary.”

“I do have other options, like getting a ride from my mom or friends, getting an Uber or taking the bus, having a license isn’t really life or death for me,” Gartland added.

‘I’ll call an Uber’

Gen Z’s refusal to get behind the wheel is driving older generations mad.

“I have a 21-year-old nephew who still has no plans on driving,” a Los Angeles-area mom named Meghan lamented in a TikTok video.

“And [my] 13-year-old [son] — I have a truck out front for him [when he’s old enough] — and he said, ‘I don’t need that. You’re gonna drive me or I’ll call an Uber,’ ” she added.

Another mother on the site complained: “I have a 16-yearold boy who has no desire to drive. We even bought him a Mustang.”

However, McKinsey consultants say they can’t know yet whether the trend might revolutionize the auto industry.

“It’s too early to tell whether the no-driving trend will hold with Gen Z,” they stated.