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RALEIGH – Recent data shows fewer teens are getting their driver's licenses when they turn 16.

With graduated licenses and the cost of insurance in a tough economy, many teens are waiting.

Chelsea Demarest, 20, remembers turning 16 and the excitement of getting her driver's license – and the disappointment.

"I took my driver's test, I failed it two times before I passed,” she said. “OK, it was three.”

Demarest has been driving ever since, but says she's in the minority among her friends.

"Some cases it was easier for them not to get their license,” she said.

National statistics released last month show many drivers are waiting until 17, 18 or later to get behind the wheel. The Bureau of the Census shows in 2008, 30.7 percent of 16-year-old drivers got their licenses, compared to 44.7 percent in 1988.

It's a trend among tech-saavy teens who don't need to drive to see friends.

"A lot of the communication today is not really face to face. But it's texting or on the phone or on the computer,” Demarest said.

With all the distractions, safety is a top concern for parents and driver education teachers like William Powell in Wake County.

"The texting, the cell phones, the radio, friends in the car. There's simply too many distractions and we're having a high number of collisions,” Powell said. “Which in turn has made parents really think, 'Do I really want my child out there on the road?'"

North Carolina's graduated license program gives young drivers more supervised practice hours and works to make sure kids are ready before driving full time.

"Once you get into one of the levels of the graduated license program, you might have to stay there. You might have to stay at a level if you're stopped for violations,” said Marge Howell, with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.

There's also the financial cost to consider. Even in a good economy, adding a young driver to an insurance policy can strain a family budget.

"With the economy being the way it is, it's a big expense on insurance, not only adding a teenager, an inexperienced driver, but then you have the cost of possibly adding an additional car,” said Insurance Agent Anthony Sykes, with State Farm Insurance.

With those expenses on the horizon for a college student like Demarest, she's enjoying staying on her parents insurance and driving mom's car.

The State Highway Patrol says car crashes are the leading cause of death among North Carolina teenagers. Every 23 minutes in the state, a teen is in an accident.