Young Drivers Getting A Lesson in Economics

In some families with teenagers, driving less is a harder sell.

Doug McKenzie, a father of three in Upper Marlboro, said that his own gas consumption is down but that it has been tough to persuade his 17-year-old daughter, Elle, to follow his lead.

McKenzie said he has begun asking his daughter why she always volunteers to drive on social outings. Why not her friends? "Maybe once or twice you and your friends could stay home," he recalls telling her.

But ultimately, he said, he gives in to her most persuasive objection.

"Dad, I'm a teenager," his daughter tells him.

The depth of teenagers' concern about escalating gas prices might track along a telling fault line: whose money is being used to pay at the pump.

Cate Wilson, 17, a rising senior at Langley High School who lives in Great Falls, is candid about not conserving. "My parents pay for it," she said. "They say limit my driving, but I don't sort of do that."

Then there is Kaitlin Coffey, 19, who attends the University of Richmond and is so focused on the cost of gas, which she pays for, that she does not turn on the air conditioner in her car, except on the most sweltering days and then only briefly.

Her friend Rachel Ognibene noted that, for her 18th birthday this month, her father chose gas as one of her gifts. He topped off her tank: a $22 surprise.

Stephen S. Fuller, director of George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis, said the fallout for teens is largely related to family economics. A teenager whose parents pay for gas "probably doesn't feel it at all, but the teenager whose spending depends on his earnings is going to feel this significantly. Gasoline is a big portion of their budget."

For some teens, gas money comes from several sources.

Jessica Fainberg, 18, of Potomac, a recent graduate of Winston Churchill High School, splits her gas costs with her parents, funding her share mostly with her two-days-a-week babysitting job in Germantown. But as prices rose, she has come up short. "Half the time, I can't afford to even fill up my gas tank halfway," she said.

She said part of the problem is the vehicle she fell in love with: a Nissan Xterra. "The first day I filled up, it was like $65, and I was like, 'Oh, man.' " But relief has come from friends who pitch in when she gives them a ride. And from holding back on her driving.

Her parents contribute, too.

In a recent week, she asked her mother for $20 for gas on a Tuesday. She got $10. It was enough to keep her on the road until Thursday, when she was paid.