IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25,
2006
16-Year Old Teens May Not Receive Driver
License
2004
Legislation Requires Driver Education
Atlanta--Joshua’s
Law, named after high school senior Joshua Brown killed in a vehicle crash,
was passed by the Georgia General Assembly and requires all teens to take
driver education to get their Restricted Driver License before the age of
17. This requirement takes effect January 1, 2006.
“Driver education
should be as mandatory as keyboarding, but we cannot remain satisfied with
the methods that were developed 50 years ago and still being taught today,”
says Alan Brown, father of Joshua and author of the legislation. “LuGina
and I are members of a club that no parent wants to be part of. The pain is
constant and the emptiness will never go away.”
The National Teen
Research Center, established by the Joshua Brown Foundation (a 501c3
non-profit organization) at the Burruss Institute of Kennesaw State
University, has enlisted the skills of national adolescent behavior
scientists, simulation experts, and traffic safety professionals to define
21st Century Driver Training.
21st
Century Driver Training requires the technological and educational culture
of today that includes immersive virtual learning to be effective. The key
elements of a practical and successful program include three basic elements:
-
Accessibility—improved driver training needs to be centered within a
learning environment that is easily accessed by teens and families
-
Affordability—the law includes a 5% fee on all traffic violations in
Georgia with the intent of providing the money necessary to fund
effective driver training
-
Effectiveness—training programs need to be measured for outcomes that
show a reduction in death and injury to teens and their passengers
“Shifting the
safety paradigm from education to training is an important part of reducing
teen driving injuries and death,” offers Dr. Jim Voorhees, NTRC Advisory
Board member and President of Instructional Technologies, Inc. “We can save
lives if we do it right.”
For additional information regarding Joshua’s Law,
contact Pat Wilder, Executive Director of the Joshua Brown Foundation at
pat.wilder@joshuabrownfoundation.org or
678-797-2303. For more details regarding Joshua’s Law, go to
http://www.dds.ga.gov/teens/index.aspx “Important
Notice to Teen Drivers and Their Parents” or
www.joshuabrownfoundation.org.
