Call me crazy. Not only am I a rule follower, but I just think this particular set of Georgia driving laws make a ton of sense. Teenagers are inexperienced drivers and happen to be easily distracted whether behind the wheel or not. So…. being forced to A) drive alone without your friends in the car for the first 6 months makes perfect sense and B) Limiting the number of distracting kids in their cars until 18 again…makes perfect sense to me. Finally, C) keeping them off the road after midnight….nothing good happens after midnight, right? Shouldn’t they be home in bed?
I have two teenagers. One is 18 with his full Class C license. So far, he has been an excellent driver and happened to be born with a GPS in his brain. He admitted to me two days after getting his license at 16 that he was glad no friends could ride with him because he needed the time to adjust to driving alone without me telling him exactly where to turn. As time wore on, he resorted to begging to drive his friends but I held firm and enforced the law.
Why am I on this soapbox now? My 15 year old will be ready to get his license in August. That’s when the frustration surrounding the enforcement of these laws will begin all over again. Which parents will enforce these laws? Which kids will pile their cars full of teenagers days after turning 16?
What do you think? Will you enforce these laws when your kids become new drivers? Please comment!
Click here to read about Joshua Robert Brown the namesake of Joshua’s Law. After a tragic car accident took his life at 18, his parents lobbied the Georgia Legislature to pass the law, that they so bravely named for their son. “Joshua’s Law” requires that all 16 year old drivers take a 40-hour supervised driver’s training course.
A couple of thoughts…4 kids and 4 cars gives more opportunity to have an accident especially if they are following each other
Distracted drivers are a danger regardless of age. My 18 year old was rear needed by an adult yesterday. The driver was distracted so my son went around him. This action made the other driver mad so he purposely hit my son and then tried to intimidate him. Thankfully there was no damage or injury.
I love this law! My husband and I enforced it with our two older kids who are over 18 and will do so with our youngest when he starts driving. It makes it easier to enforce good common sense when they can get ticketed (and potentially lose their license). A midnight curfew just makes sense as well as not having a pack of friends in the car until they are more experienced.
I totally agree as a mother of teen drivers. Joshua’s law makes sense especially in Atlanta area driving.http://commuting.blog.ajc.com/2015/11/06/americas-deadliest-interstate-is-in-georgia-study-says/
Yes it is 2013 but it is not like 285 has gotten better or safer since 2013. I hope more parents of teens will enforce the law and insist their new drivers not have friends in the car that first 6 months.
We agree with the teen driving laws and are enforcing it with our teenage driver
I totally agree with the laws! In fact, I don’t think kids should be able to drive until they are 18. The good decision making part of the brain is not fully developed at 16 and 17
While my son has proven to be a careful driver thusfar (he’s 15 with a permit) we will definitely enforce the law and no allow him to take other teens with him until it is legal and hopefully safer.
My girls are in college now but I absolutely agree with these rules and made them follow them.
This is a great article, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/everdrive-app-smartphone-technology-saving-teen-drivers/
A timely question because 6 GA teenagers have died in two car accidents this week. In one of the accidents near Fairburn, 5 high schoolers were in one car and 4 died. I agree with the law — the more kids, the greater the chance of a party atmosphere in the car, and combined with their lack of experience, mistakes are easy to make.
Sadly and coincidentally, there have been numerous teen deaths in metro Atlanta this week. Read about these tragic deaths at the links provided below and note the ages of the kids.
100% agree with the law!
We also enforce the teen driving laws. Our daughter is now allowed have one additional non-family member. She will have her 1 year in July. I think it is very important and teens can get so distracted with the smallest things.
I 100% agree. Just wish more parents followed the rules.
A decade or so ago, there was a tragic accident involving students at Chamblee High. Because the driver died, there was little discussion of the fact that she hadn’t had her license long enough to have three passengers. I felt this was an opportunity lost to discuss with the parents in the area the reason the law was created and the data behind it. Alas, it was essentially swept under the rug.
As a parent, I always ask how long a teen has been driving before my kid can ride with them. And frankly, I trust my drivers much more than any other kids. I prefer one kid in one car.
Why on Earth would any parent think it’s a good idea to send your kids the message that laws should be broken if you don’t agree with them? Even if I thought my kid was a perfect driver and would be perfectly fine driving with friends in the car, I wouldn’t be able to allow it, bc doing so would be breaking the law.
100% agree with you Audra and the LAW. We will be following the law and hope that the other parents/adults in our kids life will set a good example and do the same.
We also agree with 100% compliance……laws are made to be followed…..how in the world can we even think about encouraging our children to disobey the law? Zero tolerance regarding this issue…..
I agree with the midnight rule but I think my 16 year old driver is just as distracted in the car with his 10 year old brother as he would be with a friend in the car. What’s the difference? It should be family members over age 18. Period.