GEORGIA DRIVER'S EDUCATION COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2019 SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 Commission Members: Allen Poole, Chairman Spencer R. Moore, Vice Chairman Alfred Barber Kevin Boyd Beth Graham Lidell Greenway Malika Reed Wilkins 7 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DRIVE SUITE 643 ATLANTA,GA 30334 (404) 656-2769 PAGE 02 In accordance with O.C.G.A. 15-21-181(b), the Georgia Driver's Education Commission (GDEC) submits this report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the committee chairpersons for the standing committees in the Senate and House of Representatives that are assigned issues related to motor vehicles. This report contains data on the amount of funds collected from the additional penalty imposed on traffic citations for driver's education for the previous three fiscal years, the amount of such funds appropriated to the commission for each corresponding year, and the manner and purposes for which such funds have been expended. MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Georgia Driver's Education Commission is to maximize participation in driver's education and training to reduce motor vehicle crashes by making driver's training accessible and affordable to all Georgians. Board Composition Pursuant to O.C.G.A 15-21-173, the Georgia Driver's Education Commission shall consist of eight members who shall serve for terms of four years. The State Board of Education shall appoint one member of the commission and the Department of Driver Services shall appoint two members of the commission. The director of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety shall appoint one member of the commission. The remaining four members of the commission shall be appointed by the Governor, two of whom shall be public school driver's education providers and the other two shall be private driver's education providers. The Governor shall designate a chairperson of the commission from among the members. Allen Poole, Chairman Director, Governor's Office of Highway Safety Appointed by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety Spencer R. Moore, Vice Chairman Commissioner, Department of Driver Services Appointed by the Department of Driver Services Alfred Barber President, Barber's Driving School Appointed by the Governor representing private driver's education providers Kevin Boyd State Board of Education, Ninth District Representative Appointed by the State Board of Education Beth Graham Driving Instructor, Marietta/Cobb Driver's Education Appointed by the Governor representing public driver's education providers Lidell Greenway Vice President for Facilities, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Appointed by the Governor representing public driver's education providers Malika Reed Wilkins Sr. Principal, Transportation Marketing Manager, Atlanta Regional Commission Appointed by the Department of Driver Services Vacancy Appointed by the Governor representing private driver's education providers PAGE 03 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION PAGE 04 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA), February 2019 Traffic Safety Facts report on young drivers (DOT HS 812 753), there were 1,830 young drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 years old who died in motor vehicle crashes which is a 4 percent decrease since 2016. Additionally, the report says that there were 4,750 total fatalities involving young drivers in 2017, which is a 33 percent decrease since 2008. The report goes on to state that there were more fatalities of occupants in other vehicles than there were passenger fatalities of young drivers. If fact, an alarmingly 66 percent of passengers who died in crashes with young people driving were also between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. The National Center for Health Statistics reported that motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds. Also, according to NHTSA's report on young drivers, "there were 225.3 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2017" and "young drivers accounted for 5.4 percent (12.1 million) of the total in 2017, an 9.0percent decrease from the 13.3 million young drivers in 2008, but a 0.3-percent increase from the 12.1 million young drivers in 2016." "Population for this age group decreased by 4.2 percent from 2008 to 2017." Unfortunately, the national trends holds in Georgia with motor vehicle crashes being the leading cause of death for Georgians between the ages of 1 and 34. In 2017, there were a total of 202 motor vehicle fatalities involving young drivers between the ages of 15 and 20. Of those, 71 were driving and lost their lives, 41 were passengers in vehicles driven by young drivers, 66 were occupants of other vehicles, and 24 were non non-occupants (pedestrians or bicyclists). In 2017, 13.1 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities occurred in crashes involving a young driver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's web report on teen driving Teen Driving, Get the Facts, reports that teens are at a higher risk of being in a motor vehicle crash than any other age group. The report went on to detail that "per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash" and stated that among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are males, teens driving with other teen passengers and newly licensed drivers. Additionally, the report highlighted that the presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers and that risk increases with the number of teen passengers, the risk of crashing is the highest during the first months of licensure, and teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or unable to recognize hazardous situations. The report also identified the eight "danger zones" of teen driving and leading causes of teen crashes as driver inexperience, driving with teen passengers, nighttime driving, not using seat belts, distracted driving, drowsy driving, reckless driving, and impaired driving. Fortunately, teen motor vehicle crashes are preventable and proven strategies can improve the safety of young drivers on the road through effective driver's education. Although these statistics paint a tragic picture, there are ways to reduce the risk of crashes, injuries and fatalities on Georgia roadways. While our highway safety partners across Georgia will focus on other techniques to reduce injuries and fatalities on our highways, fostering and facilitating strong driver's education remains a paramount and effective component in the fight to reduce injuries and fatalities among young Georgians on our roadways. COMMISSION HISTORY PAGE 05 Senate Bill 225 (2005), known as Joshua's Law, created the Georgia Driver's Education Commission for the purpose of recommending to the Governor and General Assembly changes in state programs, statutes, policies, budgets and standards relating to the provision of driver's education and training. Since its inception, the Georgia Driver's Education Commission has worked to identify options for teen drivers to satisfy the driver's education requirements mandated by state law for young Georgians. Joshua's Law created a surcharge on all traffic citations in Georgia (originally 5%, now 1.5%), to establish funding to support driver's education programs throughout Georgia. In April of 2007, through an agreement between the Georgia Department of Driver Services and the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, The Governor's Office of Highway Safety facilitated the allocation of the Georgia Driver's Education Commission funds by way of grant funding to support driver's education programs. During fiscal years 2007 through 2010, 58 programs received grant funding to create or support existing driver's education programs at public schools and libraries. In fiscal year 2011, the grant program was suspended due to lack of budget appropriation during the economic recession. The surcharge on traffic citations continued to be collected and appropriated to other programs. During the 2013 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly, Senate Bill 231 extended the sunset of the Georgia Driver's Education Commission until June 30, 2016 and reduced the amount of the surcharge collection from 5 percent to 1.5 percent. Budget appropriations resumed in Fiscal Year 2015 and the Commission has since provided training to over 17,000 Georgia students. After budget appropriations resumed, the Commission continued support of existing driver's education programs at high schools and executed a contract with the Technical College System of Georgia to establish a scholarship program for driver's education. HB 806 during the 2016 legislative session extended the sunset to June 30, 2019 and assigned the Georgia Driver's Education Commission to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety for administrative purposes. In fiscal year 2017, the Commission suspended the support of driver's education programs and launched the Georgia Driver's Education Commission Grant Scholarship Program in March of 2017. The program, open to public (public high school, technical colleges, universities, and other state-owned driver education programs) and privately owned (commercial, for-profit driving schools and non-profit organizations, and private schools) awards driver's education grant scholarships to students ages 15-17 years old who seek to complete a 36 hour (30 hours of classroom instruction and 6 hours of behind the wheel instruction with an approved instructor) driver's education program. Scholarships are awarded on a tiered priority system. First priority is given to grant scholarship applicants who are a child or dependent of a public safety professional or member of the United States military killed in the line of duty. Second priority is given to scholarship applicants who can demonstrate a need based on family income (financial need eligibility is based on 125% of the free and reduced priced school meal eligibility for Georgia). Third priority is given to all applicants who do not meet the criteria set forth in the first priority and second priority outlined above. All of the applicants in the first priority are awarded before the second priority applicants; and all of the second priority applicants are awarded before third priority applicants are awarded a grant scholarship. If more grant scholarship applications are submitted than grant scholarships available in each priority level, grant scholarships are awarded using a computer generated random selection method from the priority level applications. Grant scholarships are evenly distributed among Georgia's United States congressional districts to ensure that all Georgians are considered despite geographical location. The Georgia Driver's Education Grant Scholarship Program was continued in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. PAGE 06 FISCAL YEAR 2019 ACTIVITIES In fiscal year 2019, the Commission awarded 5,632 driver's education scholarships through the Georgia Driver's Education Grant Scholarship program, an increase of 2.7 percent from fiscal year 2018 despite a decrease in funding. Of the 5,632 scholarships awarded, 668 students forfeited scholarships or chose not to complete driver's education through an authorized provider in the program. The remaining 4,964 students who completed driver's education represents a value of $2,037,391.78 paid in driver's education grant scholarships. Below is a listing of the driver's education providers participating in the program, with the number of training locations operated by each provider, the number of scholarships redeemed by each provider, and the financial value of the scholarships redeemed by each provider. PAGE 07 PAGE 08 FUNDING HISTORY PAGE 09 GEORGIA TEEN DRIVER'S LICENSE INSURANCES AND DRIVER'S EDUCATION COMPLETION METHOD Data Provided by the Georgia Department of Driver Services Georgia Driver's Education Commission Annual Report