Georgia Traffic Laws and Safe Driving Practices
Licensing and graduated driving
Georgia issues a learner’s permit at 15 after the knowledge and vision tests. A Class D license at 16 requires Joshua’s Law: 40 hours of supervised driving, including 6 at night, plus a DDS-approved driver education course; at 17, the 40 hours are required without the course; at 18, the Joshua’s Law requirements no longer apply. Class D holders under 18 are subject to passenger and nighttime restrictions. Georgia’s hands-free law prohibits holding or supporting a phone while operating a vehicle; voice commands and earpieces are allowed, and the main exception is being lawfully parked off the roadway.
Core traffic rules
- Basic speed law: never drive faster than is reasonable for conditions, even below a posted limit. Default limits are generally 30 mph in urban/residential areas, 55 mph on rural roads, and up to 70 mph on interstates unless posted otherwise.
- Right-of-way: left-turning drivers yield to oncoming traffic; pedestrians in a crosswalk have the right-of-way; emergency vehicles with lights/sirens have priority.
- Impairment: DUI per se is .08 for adults, .02 for drivers under 21, and .04 for commercial drivers; implied consent applies.
- Occupant protection: seat belts are primary enforcement; child restraints are required for children under 8.
- School buses: stop for flashing red lights and the stop arm on a two-lane road; on a divided highway, opposite-direction traffic need not stop.
- Move-over law: change lanes or slow down for stopped emergency, tow, and utility vehicles with lights.
- Bicyclists: pass with at least 3 feet of clearance.
Safe-driving application
Use a 3-second following distance in good conditions, more at night or in rain; maintain a space cushion; scan 12–15 seconds ahead; and apply IPDE. Reduce speed before curves and wet surfaces, and never rely on cruise control on slick roads.
Worked example. A driver stopped at a red light picks up a phone to send a text. The hands-free law is still violated: the vehicle is in operation on a roadway, and the parked-off-road exception does not apply. The correct action is to leave the phone alone until parked.
Traps that cost marks
- Thinking a red light makes phone handling legal.
- Assuming opposite traffic always stops for a school bus on a divided highway.
- Confusing the .08 adult DUI threshold with the .02 under-21 threshold.
- Treating the posted speed as automatically safe in rain or fog.