Dad wants more funds spent on teenage drivers

ATLANTA - A state law adopted in 2007 that required driver's education for all 16-year-olds also created a way to help pay for it, but only 20 percent of funds collected under the program have been appropriated for its use.

State officials say the law does not require all the money collected through an extra fee on traffic tickets to be spent on the teen driver's education program, but the father of the boy who inspired the law says more money generated by the law should be used for that purpose.

Alan Brown's son, Joshua, died in a car wreck in 2003. Since then, Brown said Joshua's Law has helped thousands of Georgia teens become safer drivers.

"I wrote this law to save lives and to honor my son," Brown said. "I wanted to create a way to pay for driver's education without mom or dad or the taxpayers having to pay for it."

From fiscal years 2005 to 2009, $38.4 million was collected from the add-on fine and went into the state's general fund. The legislature appropriated $2.7 million per year for fiscal years 2007 to 2009, for a total of about $8.1 million.

Joshua's Law was passed during the 2005 General Assembly and took effect beginning Jan. 1, 2007. According to the law, all 16-year-olds applying for a Class D driver's license must complete an approved driver education course and 40 hours of supervised driving, including six hours of night driving. The teen's parent or guardian must provide a sworn verification that these requirements have been met.

Any Georgia resident who has