Page 25 - FINAL GA Drivers Manual Updated July 2021

Use Headlights Properly • Do not drive if you are tired. More frequent

Use high-beam headlights only when driv- stops, more fresh air, lively radio programs injury. Georgia has a “primary” safety belt

ing in rural areas and when other cars are not and other measures can help you to avoid law, meaning that officers may stop and cite
nearby. You must use your headlights between drowsiness and inattention; violators without observing another violation.
one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour be- • Watch carefully for highway signs; they are
fore sunrise; at any time when it is raining; or harder to see at night; Safety Restraints for Children
when visibility is limited.
You should dim (lower) your headlights • Watch carefully for pedestrians and for ve- Every driver transporting a child who is
when: hicles stopped along the edge of the road; under eight years of age, except in a taxicab

or public transit vehicle, must properly re-

• You are within 500 feet of an approaching • Do not stop on the roadway. strain the child in a child pas senger restrain-

vehicle so as not to blind the driver; ing system appropriate for the child’s height
• You are following closely (within 200 feet) Safety Belts and weight. The restraint system must com-

behind another vehicle; ply with the United States Department of
• You are driving on lighted roads; Georgia law states that each occupant in the Transportation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213. Under limited circumstances,

front seat of a passenger vehicle traveling on
• You are driving in rain, fog, snow, or smoke; Georgia roads and highways must be secured a child under eight may be exempt from this

• Your vision is reduced to less than 200 feet. by a seat safety belt (lap and shoulder). All oc- requirement. For further information, contact
the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety

cupants of any passenger vehicle must utilize
Night Driving a seat safety belt if they are under the age of 18. http://www.gahighwaysafety.org.
Safety belts are needed because they are the
Because of decreased vision at night and the most effective occupant protection in all types of
glare of oncoming headlights, night driving vehicle crashes. According to Crash Stats from Distracted Driving

presents its own unique challenges. Unfamiliar the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin- Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing
roads and unexpected situations are more like- istration, seat belts saved 12,802 lives in 2014. safety issues. According to the
ly to cause hazardous driving conditions. You Georgia Department of Transportation reports National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
can help ensure safe driving in several ways. that the risk of fatality in a crash is reduced (NHTSA), 3,142 people were killed on U.S.
• Make sure your headlights are working by about 45% when seat belts are used. Using roadways in 2019 because of distracted drivers.
Distracted driving is doing another activity while
properly and the lenses are kept clean. Pe- safety belts correctly is a preventable health driving. This takes the driver’s attention away
riodically have them checked for correct care habit that: from the primary task of driving and
aim/alignment; increases the risk of crashing. Common
• helps you keep control of the vehicle; distractions include but are not limited to
• Don’t “overdrive” your headlights. When • helps keep your head from striking the dash talking on a cell phone, texting, reading,

situations eating, grooming, using a navi-gation device, and
that make the use of headlights necessary or windshield; adjusting the stereo system. The presence of

for safe travel, do not drive at a speed that • helps keep people in the vehicle from hitting a passengers and pets can also increase crash

requires a stopping time greater than the each other; risk. Georgia law requires driv-ers to exercise due

distance illuminated by your headlights; • helps spread the crash force across the stron- care in operating a motor vehicle and prohibits

• Slow down when oncoming traffic is ap- ger parts of the body; any action that distracts the driver from the
safe operation of such vehicle.
proaching or when you are nearing a curve; • helps protect you from injury;
• If visibility is greatly reduced, use the edge Following Emergency Vehicles
line as a guide to maintaining your lane of • helps keep you from being ejected from the The driver of any vehicle, other than one on
travel. If there is no edge line, use the center vehicle. official business, must not follow any fire fighting
line to guide yourself; When used correctly, safety belts are effective apparatus traveling in response to a fire alarm, or
other emergency vehicles, closer than 200 feet, or
• Keep your windshield clean; at helping reduce the risk of death or serious park any vehicle within 500 feet of any fire
apparatus stopped in answer to a fire alarm
GEORGIA'S LITTER CONTROL LAW
Each year, municipal, county and state government agencies spend Whenever litter is thrown, deposited, or dropped from any motor
thousands of doll ars to clean up litter from the streets and highways vehicle, the operator of the vehicle shall have violated the Litter
of Georgia. Individuals who litter cause harm to the beauty of the state Control Law. All Georgia law enforcement agencies are authorized to
and impact the health, welfare and safety of others. enforce compliance of the Litter Control Law.
It is unlawful to dump, deposit, throw or leave litter on any Georgia’s Litter Control Law classifies littering as damage to property.
public or private property in the State of Georgia, or any waters in the A conviction under this law is considered a misdemeanor in Georgia.
State of Georgia. Persons convicted of this law may be assessed a fine up to $1000
• “Litter” means all sand, gravel, slag, brick bats, rubbish, waste and a 12 month jail term. In addition, if convicted of littering, a judge
material, tin cans, refuse, garbage, trash, dead animals or could order the convicted person to pick up and remove litter from
discarded materials of every kind and description; any designated area.
• “Public or private property” means the right-of-way of any road
or highway, any body of water or watercourse of the shores or
beaches thereof, any park, playground, building refuge
or conservation or recreation area and residential or farm
properties, timberlands or forest.
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