Driving

The law in Georgia under the Georgia Department of Driver Services' Driver's Manuel states that a person must be 15 years of age to receive a learner’s permit. It also states that a person must have their learner’s permit for exactly one year and one day before they are eligible to receive their provisional driver’s license. I agree with the overall process of obtaining a license, but I believe that being able to drive at the age of 15 and 16 is much to early. This law is targeted towards and mainly affects teenagers, as they have to wait until they are old enough to drive. Because this law is targeted towards teenagers it also greatly affects their parents because they must make the decision as to whether or not they will allow their children to receive a driving permit. This law personally affected me because I had to wait until I was old enough in order to be able to learn how to drive and then drive by myself. For more information on this law or other related driving laws the Georgia Department of Driver Services website is available at http://www.dds.ga.gov/.

These two graphs show that the average number of killed or injured drivers between the ages of 16-19 are greater than the average number of killed or injured drivers 65 years old or older.

This graph also shows that more property damage and injuries occur from drivers between the ages of 16-19 when compared to middle-aged and older drivers.

Texting has become a growing trend within the last decade and is most prevalent around teenagers or young adults. Many people who text have began texting while operating a vehicle which has led to many injuries and casualties. This has become such a large issue that it is now illegal to text while driving.

This video displays Senator Carl Marcellino’s position on texting while driving. He notes how many casualties occur each year by young adults and how many of those admit to texting while driving. Marcellino shows his support for the bill to ban texting while driving, which has now become law.

When connecting this law to other works we have read in class I believe it best coincides with Henry Bracton’s On the Laws and Customs of England and Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Men. In Bracton’s work, he describes society by subdividing people into different categories that are based on the laws of the society. This relates to this topic because one of the divisions of our current society is based on people who can drive and those who cannot drive. This in the same way divides society into different groups based on law. This topic also connects with Mary Wollstonecraft’s work because she believed that everyone should have equal opportunities. This law allows everyone the opportunity to operate a vehicle once the age requirement is met.