BOE receives $66,300 driver's education grant

The Jenkins County Board of Education is the recipient of a $66,300 driver's education grant from the Georgia Driver Education Commission Grant Program. The purpose of the grant is to promote, aid and encourage the successful completion of a Georgia Department of Driver Services approved driver training course for high school students who desire to qualify for a Georgia Class D driver's license, as required per O.C.G.A. 40-5-22, also known as Joshua's Law.

The purpose of driver education is to provide students with a detailed understanding of the fundamentals of driving and to foster responsible attitudes and behaviors. As a result of quality training safety instruction, students will be able to: demonstrate a working knowledge of the rules and procedures of operating a motor vehicle; identify and analyze the physical and psychological conditions that affect driver performance; apply knowledge processes and skills to become safe, competent users of the highway transportation system; and display responsible driving behaviors when alone and with peers.

Successful completion of a state-approved driver education program does not, alone make a teenager a responsible, experienced driver. Traffic safety education involves family, community, industry, government and personal factors such as motivation, maturity and perceptive abilities.

These factors play major roles in the development and safety of young drivers. Evidence shows that often it is not poor driving skills that cause accidents among this age group, but inexperience and/or poor attitude. The family, not the school, is in the best position to have a sustained effect on minimizing the risks faced by inexperienced drivers and encouraging responsible behaviors. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on extensive supervised practice with a licensed parent or guardian to the development of precision in the use of skills, processes and responsibilities. Parents should note that students will also need an additional 40 hours of supervised driving experience, six of which must be supervised night driving, which they may provide to their children.