TAMPA BAY, Fla -- From his position in the passenger seat of a car, Chris Meier has noticed a trend in the driver’s seat: A change in the age of the person behind the wheel.

Meier has worked with driving schools in Tampa Bay for more than 20 years. His father launched a school all the way back in 1978. Meier founded one of his own, Safe Drivers Florida, a few years ago.

But he’s noticed recently that the teenagers he teaches just keep getting older.

“I have a lot of students who are 17 and 18 (years old) versus 15 and 16 (years old) like I when I first started,” Meier said.

It's not a coincidence. Numbers from the Federal Highway Administration show as recently as 1997, 43% of 16-year-olds had gotten their driver’s license. By 2020, that number had plummeted to just 25%.

A generation or two ago, teens would often go to the Department of Motor Vehicles the very day they turned 16 years old. It was a rite of passage. Now, many teens seem content to wait months — even years — before becoming a licensed driver.

In fact, a recent study from AAA showed just 54% of American teens had their license by the age of 18. Meier said he believes fear and anxiety is the No. 1 factor compelling teens to wait.

“A lot of it is nervousness and anxiousness. They find it very stressful to be driving. I don’t blame them,” Meier told Spectrum Bay News 9. “A lot of kids don’t want to have that stress and anxiety of people constantly tailgating them, people constantly cutting them off, people constantly speeding.”

It's not the only factor.

Recent research from General Motors suggested that cost — the price of a car, insurance and gas — was the most common reason teens were waiting longer to get their driver’s license.

Spectrum Bay News 9 spoke to teenagers who echoed the idea that anxiety and fear played a role in putting off becoming a licensed driver. They confirmed that cost was a major impediment as well. But some told us there just wasn’t a compelling need to drive right away.

“I will need (a license) eventually. It’s just not right now the most important thing I need to worry about,” said Skielar Steinacker, an 18-year-old from Brandon who does not have a license or a learner’s permit.

“Really, if I need a ride, I can ask — I can get one,” Steinacker said.

Even inside the Meier family — a family devoted to teaching people in Tampa Bay how to drive for the past 45 years — there’s been a shift. Chris’ father founded a driving school. Chris founded a driving school. But Chris’ son, while having a license, doesn’t have a car and doesn’t have a strong desire to drive.

“He’s never felt the need. His friends would swing by, pick him up, and they’d hang out together as a group,” Meier said, adding that the kids would also interact online. “Even though they’re not physically together, they don’t feel the need to drive to a place.”

For them, a driver’s license isn’t a necessity, so they don’t feel like they’re missing out on anything by waiting.