Teenagers no longer need to pass a driving test - all they need is the ‘A-okay’ from parents, governor decides

Good news for teenagers in Georgia, potentially terrible news for every other adult on the road: tests are no longer required to get a driving licence.

Instead, teenagers looking to be awarded a licence must simply get approval from their parents.

The unusual decision comes as part of an executive order from state governor Brian Kemp.

As employees at the Department of Driver Services practice social distancing during the pandemic, it’s not possible for in-person road tests to be conducted.

The solution Kemp has come up with is to suspend the tests altogether and instead rely on parents to judge whether their teen is ready to hit the road.

Young drivers must meet other requirements, which include 40 hours of supervised driving.

However, there is no way to actually measure if they’ve completed that element, which again relies on parents to be honest.

"I'm hoping most parents won't just sign off on those 40 hours, I'm hoping most will take the time and drive with their kids before they let them obtain their driver's license," said driving school owner Stormi Kenney to Fox 5, in response to the governor’s order.

And another parent wasn’t sure whether she trusted herself to be totally objective about letting her child drive.

"I think it would be beneficial to have an unbiased set of eyes on my driver. I think I might be quick to let her get her license not knowing if she knows all the laws,” said Lyn Ridenour.

The announcement was met with bemusement and concern elsewhere.

Some said it would make the roads “unsafe”.

Other said they would be steering clear of the state.

All in all, the news wasn't exactly well received.

Teens, however, seemed pretty happy.

In the words of Charli XCX: vroom vroom!