A driving test is a rite of passage for teenagers, but the coronavirus pandemic has put that on hold in Georgia.
For the time being, the state is allowing 16-year-olds to get a license without taking the road test requirement.
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This move has some parents concerned about safety on the streets, WSB reports.
"I think eliminating a driving test puts people at greater risk,” Jen Hancock, a parent, said.
Hancock’s son will get a learner's permit next year, and she said she wouldn't let him get a license without taking the road test.
"If we have a stay at home order, where do these 16-year-olds need to drive?" Hancock said.
The week’s long suspension of in-person road tests due to the virus has 30,000 teens in waiting to upgrade from a learner’s permit, but Governor Kemp has taken action to change that.
The Commissioner of the Department of Driver Services said teens seeking a license can obtain one at their website. They must submit a written statement attesting they have completed nearly 40 hours of supervised training with the help of an adult or professional instructor.
Many have applied.
“It allows this driver to move to that next phase without having to take the road test,” Spencer Moore, commissioner, Department of Driver Services, said. “We have already seen in the last hour, 730 teens upgrade to this provisional license.”
Moore said with dozens of hours behind the wheel, the vast majority of teenagers easily clinch the road test, even though that won't be required for the time being.
We see a very high pass rate,” Moore said. “We see more than eighty percent on the first round."
Still, Alicia Wiggins and her 15-year-son don’t think a license should be handed to a teen without a road test.
"As a driver, I want to know for myself that I'm ready to be on the road too," said 15-year-old Tanner Wiggins.
Teens who qualify for a provisional license can print it out after getting approved online.
A couple of weeks later, the actual license will arrive in the mail.
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