According to a December 2, 2004 Los Angeles Times article, only 43% of American 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds had licenses in 2002. By comparison, the percentage in 1982 was 52%.
For example, in California, newly licensed minors must wait a year before they can drive with other minors in their car, and cannot drive during certain hours of the night due to California's youth curfew laws. Thus, a minor can only drive with his or her friends in the car for at most one year before the minor becomes an adult.