One of the main things kids look forward to as they are growing up is finally obtaining a driver’s license. In most states, reaching the age of sixteen allows you to take the driver’s test and acquire this modern rite of passage. However, in some states, including Georgia, legislatures have passed laws raising the age at which you can take the test to seventeen unless teens take an approved driver’s education course. In Georgia this law is referred to as Joshua’s Law in honor of a young man who died in a car accident because his parents had not taught him properly how to drive (Joshua's Law Explained, 2006).
These types of laws seek to protect younger persons from harming themselves and others by restricting their ability to engage in certain activities until they reach a certain age. This law creates classifications within the legal definition of a person based on age, much like Henry Bracton creates different classifications within his definition of the person. The age distinction within the law creates a legal definition of a person which defines a person under the age of 17 as inferior. The law classifies persons under the age of seventeen as too incompetent to handle driving situations without proper training. This system is loosely meritorious, like the system Mary Wollstonecraft suggests in her time period, giving people the privilege to drive based on how they perform on a test; however, Joshua’s Law strays from this be limiting who can take the test, that is to say who can be judged based on their merit. By limiting who can be judged based on their merit to receive certain privileges, Joshua’s Law creates a definition of the person that includes classes of persons based on age. Joshua’s Law classifies those between sixteen and seventeen years of age as less of a person than those above the age of seventeen, yet still more of a person than those below the age of sixteen. Hence, Joshua’s Law shifts the definition of a person to be more exclusive based on age.
These types of laws seek to protect younger persons from harming themselves and others by restricting their ability to engage in certain activities until they reach a certain age. This law creates classifications within the legal definition of a person based on age, much like Henry Bracton creates different classifications within his definition of the person. The age distinction within the law creates a legal definition of a person which defines a person under the age of 17 as inferior. The law classifies persons under the age of seventeen as too incompetent to handle driving situations without proper training. This system is loosely meritorious, like the system Mary Wollstonecraft suggests in her time period, giving people the privilege to drive based on how they perform on a test; however, Joshua’s Law strays from this be limiting who can take the test, that is to say who can be judged based on their merit. By limiting who can be judged based on their merit to receive certain privileges, Joshua’s Law creates a definition of the person that includes classes of persons based on age. Joshua’s Law classifies those between sixteen and seventeen years of age as less of a person than those above the age of seventeen, yet still more of a person than those below the age of sixteen. Hence, Joshua’s Law shifts the definition of a person to be more exclusive based on age.
Works Cited:
ReplyDeleteCut Down The Cost Of Young Drivers Insurance. (2010). Retrieved October 26, 2010 from Young Drivers Insurance: http://www.youngdriversinsurancenow.com/ cut-down-the-cost-of-young-drivers-insurance/.
GaGOCF. Driving Ambition 1. (2009). Retrieved October 26, 2010 from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfmbvfdjdd4&feature=related.
Joshua's Law Explained. (2006). Retrieved October 26, 2010 from Georgia Department of Driver Services: http://www.dds.ga.gov/joshua/.