Following suit with the rest of the country, Georgia’s driving laws have changed in 2010. To begin with, though the citizens of rural Georgia have fought hard in order not to have to wear seat belts, which are no longer the case. No matter where an individual lives in the state of Georgia, they must wear seat belts when operating or riding in a motor vehicle. This law also encompasses truck drivers, both long and short-haul drivers alike. This is effective when an individual enters any town in the state of Georgia, though it may not necessarily apply to individuals whom are on their own farms, driving tractors. However, when they enter public roadways, they too must wear their seat belt.

Georgia has also finally decided to jump in like nearly every other state in the country, and put a stop to text messaging while driving. Text messaging while driving is both distracting and dangerous; it is far more common to get into a motor vehicle accident or have any number of traffic infractions when a driver is sending text messages while behind the wheel of their vehicle. In addition to this, anyone under the age of eighteen is no longer allowed to talk on their cellular telephone while driving. Though young drivers may believe it to be unfair, this new law in addition to the ban on text messaging focus on the safety of the drivers and everyone else on the road at any given time.

It is now also mandatory to unerringly obey speed limits. If an individual thinks they will not get in trouble for doing fifteen miles per hour or more over the speed limit, they are mistaken. One had better have a dire emergency that they are rushing to or from, or are trying to get to the hospital before they even consider speeding any longer. Anyone who is caught going fifteen miles per hour or more over the speed limit will be stopped and saddled with a substantial fine in addition to the ticket that they would have received otherwise.

Though Georgia residents may believe that these new changes are unfair, they simply need to sit back and honestly look at the new laws. They were not made to be unfair to drivers of any age; they are to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians alike. While citizens of other states are entirely familiar with similar laws to these, they are new to the state of Georgia, and therefore will take some time for the citizens to become accustomed to. Once they do, the streets of Georgia will be much safer than they were in the past.