If you live in the United States and especially in the state of Georgia, then you have most likely heard about Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s waiving of The Georgia Road Test that Georgia residents must take to receive their license. After much criticism from news outlets, Governor Kemp quickly placed the driver’s test back into the process of getting a license. Here’s a layout of all the events regarding the Georgia Driver’s Test.

• April 23, 2020– Governor Kemp issues an executive order on the COVID-19 Pandemic. One of the orders listed addressed the 16,000 road test requests put on hold during COVID-19. This order officially waived the Georgia Driver’s Test for anyone who needed to take it. This gave thousands of teenagers who had previously earned their driver’s permits the chance to earn their license simply by requesting it online. But here’s the catch: This order waived the Driver’s Test for ALL the teenagers who earned their permits, not just the ones who requested a driver’s test. The result of this was almost 20,000 Georgia teenagers getting their license online during Covid-19. 

• May 1, 2020– Headlines about this executive order went straight from the news outlets to social media outlets, which sparked a huge reaction from American citizens. The argument of the waiving being dangerous arose from CNN, considering the number of teenagers who have acquired their license already and the fact that people with permits over the age of 18 did not need their parents’ permission to obtain their license online. Most of the criticism in this argument fell on Governor Kemp, as his approval rating after this and several other executive orders fell in the 30 percent range

• May 12, 2020– After the criticism from the media and Georgia residents escalated more, Governor Kemp quickly released another executive order making some corrections to the one issued. This new order allows road tests to be given by “traditional or remote means.” Kemp ensured that “anybody who got their license without taking the test will eventually have to take the test.” This news was also taken from the news to social media, but at this point the damage had already been done and the issue had blown over.

As of right now, the public is still unsure of how exactly Georgia will administer proper tests to these 19,000 teens. However, when VOX ATL contacted the Georgia Department of Driver Services asking what is their most recommended method of obtaining one’s license at this time, they responded: 

“All CDL licenses and permits must be renewed, replaced, and updated in person at a DDS Customer Service Center. Schedule an appointment and complete the Skip-A-Step application online.

When you schedule your appointment online, please be sure to select the correct Appointment Type before beginning to set an appointment. Selecting the wrong type may lead to the customer being turned away and rescheduling for another date/time. Walk-ins are not accepted.”

With that being said, apparently the plan for the Georgia DDS is still to admit road tests for all of the teenagers who received their driver’s license online. We can only look to the future to see how that will inevitably turn out.