ATLANTA — Joshua's Law is a 2005 law that changed driver's license requirements for teens. But a new Georgia bill could be changing things up once again.
The 2005 law requires immediate family members to be the only passengers in the car for the first six months with a driver under 18. Then for the second six months, a teen driver could have other passengers in the car, as long as no more than one of those passengers is under 21.
Under Senate Bill 510, a new driver under 18 could drive a car for the first year with one other passenger in the car. That passenger doesn't have to be a family member or 21 years old.
The thought behind the original law is data based, which shows the risk of crashes is higher for teens aged 16 to 19--especially if they're newly licensed and distracted.
One study shows the risk of a fatal car wreck increases 44% if there is no one over the age of 21 years old in a teens' car.
Looking at traffic data from the Georgia Office of Highway Safety, the numbers of drivers between ages 15 to 17 killed in car wrecks hasn't significantly improved or changed in almost a decade in Georgia. But looking at overall crashes just from 2019, of the nearly 74,000 young drivers involved in a crash in Georgia, 56% of them were distracted by another person or a cell phone.
The new bill aimed at changing the original restriction has bipartisan support and already passed the Georgia Senate. It will be taken up by the House on Thursday.