Joshua's Law

Starting January 1, 2007, things will be a little bit different for students preparing to get their drivers licenses. Senate Bill 226, also known as Joshua's Law, was introduced and approved by Congress.

This bill is another attempt to decrease teen death and accident rates in the state of Georgia. Joshua's Law was introduced by Senator Preston Smith after he was approached by Alan and LuGina Brown, whose son Joshua was killed in a single car accident while driving on a wet roadway. The Brown family believes the Joshua's accident could have been avoided if he had been taught to react in certain situations while driving.

Eighty-seven percent of the General Assembly voted yes to pass the bill. This law requires all sixteen year-olds applying for a class D driver's license to complete a drivers' education course. This course includes forty hours of supervised driving, six hours of which must be at night with a parent's or guardian's sworn verification. All Georgia residents who have not completed an approved driver education course must be at least seventeen years of age to receive a class D license.

In addition to "Joshua's Law", legislation has also required all state patrolmen to send parents of teenage drivers, Driver Notification letters, when their children receive tickets. "This letter includes statistics such as: "motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers" and "one out of four fatal crashes that occurs involves drivers driving at unsafe or illegal speed, mostly involving drivers ages 16 or 17."

Both Joshua's Law and Teen Driver Parent Notification Letters are ways to try to improve teen accident rates and drop the number of tickets and violations issued to teen drivers.

Joshua Burston, Editor