# Are high school kids not having sex in cars any more? If not, why not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947 "2015-08-15T21:50:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/21 "2015-08-16T03:56:23Z")
Some are sand, some are pebble, some are cobble, some are[flat, smooth rock](http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p792/Richard_Clark_Culpeper/Neys%20--%20Foster%20Island%20--%20Coldwell/P6281928_zpsf67e1b4b.jpg). Take your pick. Pebble without any sand, and flat, smooth rock are my preference. Sand and sex is painful. Cobble the size and shape of five and ten pin bowling balls isn’t painful, but isn’t too comfortable either. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/22 "2015-08-16T04:20:22Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > One of the nice things about living on the north shore of Superior is that we have many beaches with no people, no boats, no nothing, other than beautiful shoreline and crystal clear water. Did you meet the young lady that was kayaking around Lake Superior in the mid to late 1980’s? Had an orange tent, redish boat and was trying to make her way by telling stories & doing the ‘troubadour’ thing? I took her up and flew 3-4 days paddling for her as she was looking for good camping places and seeing the coast line from above was a big help. Anywho, water babies around Superior most likely remember her. Maybe… Just wondered… ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/23 "2015-08-16T05:10:01Z")
The possibility of ending up on a sex offender registry? We’ve kind of gone off the deep end on that, and think nothing of ruining peoples lives for youthful indiscretions. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/24 "2015-08-16T05:22:22Z")
[Making Love in A Subaru](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCLQbd1YNMY) ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/25 "2015-08-16T05:23:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > my 15 year old son said he had the same notion. He knows lots of kids who are into “sexting” and whatnot, but has never heard of any car sex IRL. I notice something very relevant here, which shows how times have changed: not what your 15 yr old son says–but rather the fact the he feels comfortable saying it to you. Car sex was a big thing for earlier generations because it happened far,far away from parents, and you would never ever talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/26 "2015-08-16T05:37:20Z")
The population skyrocketed in 1952 [**thanks to the ’51 Nash**](https://stevemckelvie.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/nash-sleeping-car.jpg). There’s enough room in there for a Prius. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/27 "2015-08-16T06:14:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Making Love in A Subaru](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCLQbd1YNMY) Pretty much the first thing that jumped into my head… ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/28 "2015-08-16T22:13:07Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > No more drive ins? A larger population making it harder to find places to do it. The price of gas? Sexting and the net taking the mystery out of sex? Hell, even as far back as 20 years ago, I had trouble finding a place where the police wouldn’t be shining their flashlights at us in 10 minutes. Friggin’ cock-blockers. ---
**Author:** ![ALOHA\_HATER](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@ALOHA\_HATER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ALOHA_HATER)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/29 "2015-08-17T00:38:05Z")
Cars have been too small to fuck in since about 1985. Panel vans and huge SUVs exist, but how many 17 year olds have one of those? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/30 "2015-08-17T21:24:20Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Turned sixteen in '77. Bought a '67 Toronado which had a back seat as big as a small bed. My second car was a 1972 Toronado. Never had to use the back seat. I just pushed a button that moved the front bench seat all the way back, and that gave us plenty of room 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/31 "2015-08-17T22:44:33Z")
I was in high school and the 90’s and I’m not sure I knew anyone having sex in a car. Number one was absolutely at home. A large percentage of kids were latch-key kids - either two working parents or just a single working parent. That left most high schoolers a good two or three hours to fool around before the parental units got home. Number two was other indoor semi-private places. Apparently, the dark room at my high school was used to develop a lot more than film. Drama class was not just about acting. My brother fooled around with a girl under the bleachers. Many kids lived in apartments or townhouses that had some kind of rec rooms or common areas. By college, you had your own room, and you could take anybody there you wanted. So, yeah… sex in cars is definitely something that makes me think of a relatively small window in the 1950s to 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/32 "2015-08-17T22:53:13Z")
I dunno if car size matters. I remember getting it on in the back seat of a Volkswagen bug. If you’re young and in shape, you’ll find a way even in a small car. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/33 "2015-08-17T23:15:08Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > So, yeah… sex in cars is definitely something that makes me think of a relatively small window in the 1950s to 1970s. In my experience, this is ending the era too early. Not from my experience, but from what I have read, that also starts this car sex era decades too late: [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/s\_ex.html](http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/s_ex.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/34 "2015-08-17T23:26:22Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > In my experience, this is ending the era too early. Not from my experience, but from what I have read, that also starts this car sex era decades too late: > > [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/s\_ex.html](http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/s_ex.html) I grew up in a rural area and was definitely still a thing in the 80’s - early 90’s because I did it myself and some of my friends did it a lot more. Almost all teenagers had their own vehicles and there were plenty of quiet roads on private land to do whatever we wanted. Still, it was usually more of a matter of necessity based on circumstances rather than something people actively sought out (well, except for my best friend - he and his girlfriend really got off on having sex in a moving vehicle while I was driving for some reason). Even back then, we were aware that it was something whose time had mostly already passed because the drive-ins were gone and the car seats weren’t like big couches like in the much older models. Even the newer, larger cars with a big back seat didn’t work all that well because the seat belt buckles always got in the way at the wrong times. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/35 "2015-08-18T00:09:31Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > High school kids don’t drive around freely like previous generations did. A lot of them not only don’t have drivers licenses, they have no intention of getting one until later and only some have their own cars which was a primary goal in life when I was 16. Gas isn’t too expensive at the moment but it was mostly cost prohibitive just a couple of years ago and most teenagers can’t afford to maintain a very used car without their parent’s help. The teenagers that I know that have cars of their own use them mostly to get to and from school and part-time jobs. Their parents also know where they are at all times. > > That is quite different than when I was last a teenager in the late 1980’s and 90’s. There were no cell phones so I just told my parents that I was taking my own vehicle and going nowhere in particular and I had no idea when I would be back. They said, “OK, have fun!”. > > There is are a few fanciful assumptions in this question though if you recall it accurately. Sure, we had sex in vehicles but it wasn’t ideal or even that fun to say the least. Even cars in the 80’s and 90’s didn’t have a seat configuration that allowed for anything other than a contortionist stunt. It was usually either too hot, too cold or too humid and doing anything outside of the car was a great way to get lots of bug bites. > > The police also loved to screw with anyone that was parked in a suspicious place (I am sure that is even worse today). You wouldn’t get in real trouble for it but there is nothing worse than getting down to business and seeing an intensively bright light shining through your windows as you struggle to get you and your partner’s bare ass half-dressed while trying to think of some passable answers to really awkward questions. > > The heyday for sex in cars had since long passed even in the 80’s and 90’s. You have to go back to the 50’s and 60’s when many cars had backseats more plush than a whorehouse parlor couch and people had enough sense to not ask many questions for cars parked on Lover’s Lane or Lookout Point. With today’s typical seat configurations, you are inviting injury by even attempting such a thing and that assumes you can find a quiet place to park where people won’t assume that you are there to commit some random act of mopery that requires a swift police response. I agree with most of this. Cell phones are a big thing. Now, you never know when dad will be calling and/or have the GPS monitoring your whereabouts. Also, the cops. As soon as they saw you sitting there, shirt unbuttoned and belt undone, they might have screwed with you a little bit, but they would leave soon enough. Today, these kids may be drinking! or using drugs! and those types of things must be investigated with searches of the car. (Not that we didn’t drink or use drugs, but prior to DUI laws being heavily enforced, unless you were obviously shit-faced drunk, nobody cared to look further). And as others have said, parents today seem far more tolerant of allowing kids of the opposite sex to be alone in the bedroom because they are “working on a school project.” That shit simply did not happen in my parents’ home. You could work at the kitchen table. Hell, all of my sexual encounters before college were in a vehicle parked in the middle of nowhere. An '89 Ford Escort was wonderful. Even though it was a small car, the back seats would fold forward, exposing the trunk area and leaving plenty of room. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/36 "2015-08-18T00:21:09Z")
This is definitely still a thing- sex in cars. I just arrived home the other night by taxi near about midnight and the teenager next door sheepishly climbed out of her parked car as I was paying my taxi. I didn’t think much of it until her boyfriend climbed out 5 minutes later on the side away from her parents’ house and slunk away into the night. Additionally, I took my kids out to a park for some darker Jupiter viewing back in February. It is a city park but against a lake and very poorly lit due to its very large size. I drove out to a hill on the most remote end. There were 5+ cars parked in far corners and far away from one another- lights off but some music thumping going on. Several of the cars left and were replaced. Some repeatedly. My younger child inquired as to “What’s up with that?” My older child (middle school) was so unimpressed with my brush-off response that she commented, “Dad, I know what they are doing and it isn’t sharing their music with their friends… no one has gotten out of a car yet.” ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/37 "2015-08-18T00:24:13Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Even though it was a small car, the back seats would fold forward, exposing the trunk area and leaving plenty of room. My friend said that Ford Pintos, Chevy Chevelles, Mercury Bobcats, among others did this as well. And other cars had front seats that would roll and lean forward exposing lots of extra space. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/38 "2015-08-18T01:10:43Z")
> [@ALOHA\_HATER](#): > > Cars have been too small to fuck in since about 1985. Panel vans and huge SUVs exist, but how many 17 year olds have one of those? Bwaa-Ha-Ha-Ha!! To small to fuck in? Hell I did in a Triumph Spitfire [http://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/triumph/spitfire/autowp.ru\_triumph\_spitfire\_4.jpg](http://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/triumph/spitfire/autowp.ru_triumph_spitfire_4.jpg) As well as Austin Healey Sprites, MGs\* etc. Teenagers are flexible, and creative. \*with the top up MGBs are actually quite roomy and comfortable to get it on in. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/39 "2015-08-18T01:22:01Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > I lost my virginity in the back of my truck (in the bed) in 1984. I lost mine in the back seat of a '67 Dodge Dart. To **kaylasmom** , natch. The front seat _would_ have been possible, I suppose, but the steering wheel was in the way. Bench seats RULED! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947/40 "2015-08-18T02:19:32Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I grew up in a rural area and was definitely still a thing in the 80’s - early 90’s because I did it myself and some of my friends did it a lot more. Almost all teenagers had their own vehicles and there were plenty of quiet roads on private land to do whatever we wanted. Still, it was usually more of a matter of necessity based on circumstances rather than something people actively sought out (well, except for my best friend - he and his girlfriend really got off on having sex in a moving vehicle while I was driving for some reason). Even back then, we were aware that it was something whose time had mostly already passed because the drive-ins were gone and the car seats weren’t like big couches like in the much older models. Even the newer, larger cars with a big back seat didn’t work all that well because the seat belt buckles always got in the way at the wrong times. Sounds like we are from the same era. Similar experiences except that I didn’t really have the feeling that it was the tail end of an era. Which maybe it was not, after all… > [@Disheavel](#): > > This is definitely still a thing- sex in cars. I just arrived home the other night by taxi near about midnight and the teenager next door sheepishly climbed out of her parked car as I was paying my taxi. I didn’t think much of it until her boyfriend climbed out 5 minutes later on the side away from her parents’ house and slunk away into the night. > > Additionally, I took my kids out to a park for some darker Jupiter viewing back in February. It is a city park but against a lake and very poorly lit due to its very large size. I drove out to a hill on the most remote end. There were 5+ cars parked in far corners and far away from one another- lights off but some music thumping going on. Several of the cars left and were replaced. Some repeatedly. My younger child inquired as to “What’s up with that?” My older child (middle school) was so unimpressed with my brush-off response that she commented, “Dad, I know what they are doing and it isn’t sharing their music with their friends… no one has gotten out of a car yet.” Good to hear it’s not totally archaic (for some reason). 😃 I wonder if it’s regional? Going on at a lower level or just among a certain social class? ETA: \*\*Disheavel’s \*\*first example suggests that there might be a new mode of doing this in some cases, that doesn’t require a teenager having a car or getting permission to drive off into the night with no cell contact. I don’t remember hearing of anyone when I was a teen using the parents’ car while parked right out in the driveway or whatever, but it makes sense in certain circumstances. A lot easier to get away with than sneaking a paramour into your bedroom, and less likely to incite suspicion from the cops as long as you don’t crank the tunes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-high-school-kids-not-having-sex-in-cars-any-more-if-not-why-not/727947.md?page=3)