1 minute read

US Licensed Drivers 1983 vs. 2017

I am taking driver lessons right now in order to get my driver’s license. Though I’ve been to the US for more than five years now, I am too lazy to get one. And honestly, living in LA then Bay Area, I am just not motivated enough… This makes me wonder, when do American normally get their driver’s license. The exact data was a bit hard to find online, but I found this Statista chart, and it leads me to this website with % licensed drivers in the US by age groups in different years. And it is interesting to look at how the driver’s license popularity has changed in the past 40 years.

My Visualization

I focused on the earliest and most recent years available in the dataset – 1983 and 2017, and drew a gantt plot to compare the licensed driver % by age buckets.

Please notice that all the visualizations are designed for desktop view, so it is recommended to view them on a desktop device.

Dashboard link

Insights

  • Comparing 1983 and 2017, it seems people are getting their driver’s licenses later in life;
  • The difference is larger in younger age groups but becomes much smaller if you compare the % licensed drivers for people over 30 years old;
  • This could be due to more and more strict rules for younger drivers and the increased availability of rideshare apps;
  • Overall, more than half of the American already have their driver’s license at the age of 18.

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