Georgia teens can get license without road test

ATLANTA, Ga. (WSB/CNN) – 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. This move has some parents concerned about safety on the streets. Jen Hancock is one of those parents. She said, “I think eliminating a driving test puts people at greater risk…”

Hancock’s son will get a learner’s permit next year. She told WSB she wouldn’t let him get a license without taking the road test. “If we have a stay at home order,” she said, “where do these 16-year-olds need to drive?”

The weeks-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.

Department of Driver Services Commissioner Spencer Moore said, “It allows this driver to move to that next phase without having to take the road test.”

Commissioner Moore told WSB teens seeking a license can obtain one at their website. They must 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, according to Moore. “We have already seen in the last hour, 730 teens upgrade to this provisional license.”

He 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 explained. “We see more than eighty percent on the first round.”

Still, Alicia Wiggins and her 15-year-son, Tanner, don’t think a license should be handed to a teen without a road test. Tanner said, “As a driver, I want to know for myself that I’m ready to be on the road too.”

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.