Joshua's Law

In 2005, 229 people ages 16-20 were killed in motor vehicle crashes in Georgia.  That same year, Georgia ranked 22nd in the percentage of traffic fatalities that involved at least one 16-20 year old driver.  To address this perceived epidemic of youth driver fatalities, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue released a Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which sets a goal of 1 fatality per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.  As part of this Strategic Highway Safety Plan, the Governor created the Young Adult Driver Task Team (YADTT), which shares the Plan’s goal of helping to find ways to accomplish “Zero deaths in Georgia.”  To bring Georgia closer to that end, the YADTT adopted a crash reduction goal of reducing fatalities and injuries by 25% by 2012, with a minimum reduction of 5% per year.

The YADTT is tasked with studying research and making recommendations to reduce young adult driver fatalities and injuries in Georgia.  Following a period of meeting at least once a month since 2006, the YADTT issued a set of priority recommendations.  The following is a description of three critical areas for which the YADTT issued recommendations.  Other priority recommendations can be found in the complete 2007-2007 YADTT Recommendations report, available from the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute.

Data
The YADTT believes Georgia must tie its crash reduction goal to vehicle miles traveled (VMT).  VMT cannot be tracked in Georgia because of the proper data is not currently available.  For that purpose and to measure the efficacy of existing and future drier safety efforts, the YADTT believes Georgia should establish a plan for access to and sharing of driving data.  This would include periodic data sampling and interagency cooperation to share driver data related to youth drivers.

Seat Belts
The YADTT determined 300 Georgia young adult lives could have been saved if they were properly wearing safety belts.   It also believes no other issue has the potential to save a greater number of lives.  Its recommendation is therefore an amendment to Georgia’s safety belt law to add 4 points to licenses for safety belt violations as well as increasing the fine to $150, with fine collections going to occupant protection education and enforcement programs.  It also recommends requiring safety belts in pickup trucks, increasing fines for repeat offenders, and enhanced education and enforcement efforts.

Alcohol
YADTT supports the establishment of a felony DUI charge, Hospital BAC reporting, Vehicle Impound, Vehicle Sanctions While Suspended, and the Elimination of Youth Exceptions as supported by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving).  It also supports the creation of a foundation to be funded by the alcohol industry to campaign against and educate about the effects of underage drinking.  It supports the expansion of driver license penalties up to suspension up to age 21 for any alcohol or drug violation (Georgia law now provides for penalties—less than full suspension—for attempting to purchase, possess or consume alcohol under age 18).

In addition to the YADTT efforts, the State of Georgia has undertaken a variety of measures to make teen drivers safer.  For example, effective January 1, 2007, all 16 year olds seeking to obtain a driver’s license in Georgia are required to fulfill Joshua’s Law requirements, which include a driver’s education course and the completion of a cumulative total of forty (40) hours of supervised driving experience, including at least six (6) hours at night.  You can read about Joshua's Law on this website.