Is driving a right or a privilege? To most people, it is a privilege and something that is practiced and earned. That mindset, however, does not seem to be the case for lawmakers and citizens in Georgia and Wisconsin.
In the US, laws vary from state to state. One of those varying laws is driving age and the laws surrounding obtaining a license. Georgia and Wisconsin have decided to temporarily do away with on-road tests for anyone trying to get a driver’s license. The governor’s rationale for waving this necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic is that it’s an “impossibility of a testing official and a novice driver [to] maintain a healthy distance inside a car.” This is a fair point. But not only is this a contradiction to their lifting of their ‘stay-in-place’ order, but it is also an unsafe and selfish act to new drivers and everyone on the road.
Current Rules
Currently, anyone who is of age to get their driver’s license in that state has to get their parent/legal guardian to sign a declaration that they have had 40 hours of in-car practice. Anyone under 18 must have had their learner’s permit for a minimum of one year without violations. They must also take the road test by September 30, 2020 to keep their license.
There are so many things wrong with this. Novice drivers need 100+ hours of practice on a variety of road types and in different conditions and weather,. Many parents see driving as a way of not having to be the chauffeur to their kid anymore, so will happily sign off on something they didn’t necessarily do. It is the absolute worst time to throw untested, immature drivers onto the roads during this pandemic when we already see a sharp increase in street racing and stunt driving on public roads.
The decision to temporarily eliminate road testing shows they see driving as a right. It seems that they want to avoid the large backlog of driver tests as well.
