Question 1

What exactly does my child need to get licensed?

Accepted Answer

For a minor to get a license in Georgia:
The student must first pass a written knowledge test to get a permit (Class CP license). This test is taken on a computer at the DDS and no appointment is needed; there are 20 questions about road signs and 20 questions about road laws. Each section must be passed with 15/20 questions correct. The study guide is Georgia’s DDS Driver’s Manual, which can be found online or at the DDS. Students also can find many free online practice tests to help prepare for the permit (knowledge) test. The student is charged $10 to take the permit knowledge test.

Once the student has a permit, they may practice driving with a licensed adult sitting beside them who is at least 21 years old. The student must practice behind the wheel for at least 40 hours, with the six of those hours driven at night. The parent has two options for teaching their child the basics of driving: follow Georgia's DDS 40-Hour Parent/ Teen Driving Guide, or hire a private driving instructor for at least six hours of private instruction. If you complete the 40-hour guide, private lessons are not necessary. The training period with a permit is a minimum of one year and one day, or until the student turns 18, whichever comes first. At that point, the student may take the road test.

All minor students in Georgia must also pass a 30-hour Driver’s Education course approved by the State of Georgia before they can road test. This is fulfills the Joshua‘s Law requirement. Some schools still offer the traditional classroom setting for Driver’s Ed, or you can choose an online course that is approved by the Georgia DDS. There is a multiple-choice exam at the end of the course which must be passed with at least a 70%. At that point, the student will be issued a 30-hour Driver Education certificate, which must be presented to the DDS at the road test appointment.

What paperwork will we need for the road test?
When the permit was issued, it will have been issued to confirmed Georgia residents as a Real ID, with citizenship and address already verified and having a black or gold star on the permit. Paperwork needed for the road test should be:

Permit
Letter of current school enrollment
Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program (ADAP) certificate, which your child will have taken their freshman year during health or gym class
Driver Education 30-hour certificate

Road tests are done by appointment only, and appointments can fill up quickly during holidays and in the summer. You must provide your own vehicle for the road test; some people hire a private driving school (like us) to chaperone the student to the road test and have the student take the road test in the school’s instructional vehicle. The actual road test itself takes around 15 minutes. The student will be expected to perform backing in a straight line, parallel parking, and reverse parking before heading out onto the road. The student will be expected to display safety, 360° awareness, and control at all times without any assistance. All road tests are now done virtually; whoever is the responsible adult/ parent will remain in the car with the student, and a two-way camera is placed inside the windshield. The examiner will then call the responsible adult’s cell phone in order to communicate directions. The responsible adult may not assist the student’s driving in any way during the test. The examiner observes the parking maneuvers from the parking lot, and observes the road driving portion from a computer inside the DDS. The student is not charged for taking the test and will only pay for the license to get issued when the test is passed.

Question 2

What paperwork will we need for the road test?

Accepted Answer

When the permit was issued, it will have been issued to confirmed Georgia residents as a Real ID, with citizenship and address already verified and having a black or gold star on the permit. Paperwork needed for the road test should be:

Permit
Letter of current school enrollment
Alcohol and Drug Awareness Program (ADAP) certificate, which your child will have taken their freshman year during health or gym class
Driver Education 30-hour certificate

Road tests are done by appointment only, and appointments can fill up quickly during holidays and in the summer. You must provide your own vehicle for the road test; some people hire a private driving school (like us) to chaperone the student to the road test and have the student take the road test in the school’s instructional vehicle. The actual road test itself takes around 15 minutes. The student will be expected to perform backing in a straight line, parallel parking, and reverse parking before heading out onto the road. The student will be expected to display safety, 360° awareness, and control at all times without any assistance. All road tests are now done virtually; whoever is the responsible adult/ parent will remain in the car with the student, and a two-way camera is placed inside the windshield. The examiner will then call the responsible adult’s cell phone in order to communicate directions. The responsible adult may not assist the student’s driving in any way during the test. The examiner observes the parking maneuvers from the parking lot, and observes the road driving portion from a computer inside the DDS. The student is not charged for taking the test and will only pay for the license to get issued when the test is passed.

Question 3

How can I help my child practice driving?

Accepted Answer

1. Keep in mind that a new driver is trying to process an incredible amount of information all at once. What we experienced drivers take for granted as an automatic behavior (such as doing a moving right turn) is actually a jumble of many steps and calculations that a new driver is trying to sort out and prioritize. Therefore, new drivers respond better when a skill is broken down into individual steps for them.

2. Because of 1. (above), new drivers need much more time to plan, calculate, and execute skills than what an experienced driver needs. Try to give instructions with plenty of time for them to think it through, and encourage much more following distance than an experienced driver would need.

3. Upon earning that permit, most new drivers will watch their parents’ driving much more carefully in order to learn. Whenever possible, be aware of your own driving habits and remember you are setting standards that they will follow. If you are having a less-than-stellar driving day (it happens to the best of us), fess up to your child and explain the difference between what you are doing and what they should do instead. Your new driver may need to be reminded sometimes that they are inexperienced and have not fully developed the skill sets to handle some things the way an experienced driver can.

4. Verbalize! When you are driving, talk your child through what you are doing. When the child is driving, have them do the same; the child verbalizing their actions to you not only reinforces their learning process, but you will be more relaxed if you know that your child is aware and planning.

5. Plan some of your child’s practices for the sake of driving alone. Many busy families get wrapped up in a routine in which the child only ever drives to school or the store. To be a well rounded driver, new drivers need to train in both familiar and unfamiliar areas; familiar areas are for training new and uncomfortable skills, and unfamiliar areas are for testing those skills and raising them to a new level. They need to drive in different types of driving environments (such as rural roads, city streets with complex intersections, 55 mph divided highways, etc), and to drive at different times of the day or week when traffic patterns change.

6. Make every trip in your vehicle together a learning experience. Even if you are the one driving, have your child observe traffic patterns and how intersections work, have them count out following distances, watch and predict the behavior of other vehicles around them, and develop at 360° awareness around the vehicle. It can also be useful to have your child download a map app such as Waze or Google Maps, and start learning the functions of those applications while becoming more familiar with how to get around town.

Question 4

Is there material for parents to help teach their teens to drive?

Accepted Answer

There are several really good resources for parents. Setting an excellent example for your teen is the foremost teaching method. In addition to that, I suggest the following:

The Georgia Department of Driver Services offers a free 40-hour parent/teen driving guide. This is used to replace in-car driving lessons for people who are too far away from a driving school, but it’s also an excellent tool for both teen and parent. It contains a lesson plan for every driving session through 40 hours. You can pick up a free copy on the rack at the DDS or use the link above to access it online.
AAA’s Keys2Drive offers a free AAA membership to teens with a learner’s permit, a parent-teen agreement, and plenty of resources for families with new drivers. They have a parent program called StartSmart, which features a newsletter and online sessions to to help the family make the driving transition. AAA’s driving education resources are used by both the Georgia DDS and the ADTSEA, which is the primary credentialing and continuing education source for most U.S. driving schools and instructors.

Question 5

How do I know that Athens Driving Prep is a legitimate driving school?

Accepted Answer

Athens Driving Prep, LLC is licensed by the state of Georgia; this is a long process which includes national background checks and fingerprinting for every member of the company and all instructors. The school must be bonded and insured, and must maintain an office with an active business phone and email. All school facilities, data security, and vehicles are inspected on a regular basis and are subject to unannounced audits. During the licensing process, the school also commits to an industry curriculum and becomes responsible for maintaining continuing education credits. Additionally, instructors will have passed a DOT physical and a lengthy written state exam.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly does my child need to get licensed?

What paperwork will we need for the road test?

How can I help my child practice driving?

Is there material for parents to help teach their teens to drive?

How do I know that Athens Driving Prep is a legitimate driving school?

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