Purpose of article

The purpose of this article, the “Georgia Driver Improvement Act,” is to improve and promote greater safety upon the highways and streets of this state; to improve the attitude and driving habits of drivers who accumulate traffic accident and motor vehicle conviction records; and to provide uniform DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs for the rehabilitation of persons identified as reckless or negligent drivers and frequent violators. In carrying out this purpose, the Department of Driver Services shall: (1) Charge a fee for the consideration of applications for approval of driver improvement clinics and instructors. The amount of this fee shall be established by the commissioner and shall, as best as the commissioner shall determine, approximate the expense incurred by the department in consideration of an application. These licenses and each renewal thereof shall be valid for a period of four years unless suspended or revoked prior to the expiration of that time period; and (2) Require, in addition to the criteria established by the commissioner for approval of driver improvement clinics and certification of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs, as provided in subsections (a) and (e) of Code Section 40-5-83, respectively, that every driver improvement clinic and DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall, as a condition of approval or certification, provide a continuous surety company bond for the protection of the contractual rights of students in such form as will meet with the approval of the department and written by a company authorized to do business in this state. The principal sum of the bond shall be established by the commissioner; however, in no event shall the amount of the bond be less than $10,000.00 per location, and a single bond at such rate may be submitted for all locations under the same ownership. If at any time said bond is not valid and in force, the license of the driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be deemed suspended by operation of law until a valid surety company bond is again in force. History. Code 1933, § 68D-101, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 2302, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1154, § 5; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2785, § 14; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1066, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 40; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5-40; Ga. L. 2003, p. 796, § 2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 17-17/HB 501; Ga. L. 2014, p. 710, § 1-13/SB 298. 40-5-81. Certification and approval of courses by department; prohibited behavior by a clinic or program. (a) Any defensive driving course or defensive driving program at which attendance is required by court order shall conform to the requirements of this article. When a defensive driving course, defensive 693 40-5-81 MOTOR VEHICLES & TRAFFIC 40-5-81 driving program, or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program is required by a court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor traffic law offenses or by any prosecuting attorney thereof, such course or program shall be certified or approved by the department under the provisions of Code Sections 40-5-82 and 40-5-83, as applicable. Certificates of completion from unlicensed defensive driving courses shall not be recognized for any purposes under this article. (b) Whenever any person is authorized or required to attend a driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program as a condition of any sentence imposed under this title or any ordinance enacted pursuant to this title or as a condition of the retention or restoration of the person’s driving privilege, such person, in complying with such condition, shall be authorized to attend any driver improvement clinic approved under this article or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program certified under this article; and no judicial officer, community supervision officer, law enforcement officer, or other officer or employee of a court or person who owns, operates, or is employed by a private company which has contracted to provide private probation services for misdemeanor cases shall specify, directly or indirectly, a particular driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program which the person may or shall attend. This Code section shall not prohibit any judicial officer, community supervision officer, law enforcement officer, or other officer or employee of a court or owner, operator, or employee of a private company which has contracted to provide probation services for misdemeanor offenders from furnishing any person, upon request, the names of approved driver improvement clinics or certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. (c) It shall be unlawful for the owner, agent, servant, or employee of any driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program licensed by the department to directly or indirectly solicit business by personal solicitation on public property, by phone, by email, or by mail. A violation of this subsection shall be a misdemeanor. Advertising in any mass media, including, but not limited to, newspapers, radio, television, magazines, internet, or telephone directories, by a driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall not be considered a violation of this subsection. (d) It shall be unlawful for the owner, agent, servant, or employee of any driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program licensed by the department to directly or indirectly offer, for purposes of the enrollment or solicitation of any student or prospective student, any item of monetary value, including but not limited to United States legal tender, food, gasoline cards, debit gift cards, or merchant gift cards, to any: 694 40-5-81 DRIVERS’ LICENSES 40-5-82 (1) Student or agent or legal representative of a student; (2) Employee or agent of a private company which has contracted with a county, municipality, or consolidated government to provide probation services pursuant to Article 6 of Chapter 8 of Title 42; (3) Law enforcement officer; or (4) Officer or employee of the judicial branch or a court. A violation of this subsection shall be a misdemeanor. In addition to all other penalties available at law, any person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this subsection shall have his or her license to operate a driver improvement clinic or DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program under this article revoked. History. Code 1933, § 68D-102, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 2302, § 1; Code 1981, § 40-585.2, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 758, § 20; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2564, § 9; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2785, § 15; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2978, § 9.1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 454, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5-41; Ga. L. 2003, p. 796, § 3; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 40; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 17-18/HB 501; Ga. L. 2011, p. 355, § 11/HB 269; Ga. L. 2014, p. 710, § 1-14/SB 298; Ga. L. 2015, p. 5, § 40/HB 90; Ga. L. 2015, p. 60, § 4-19/SB 100; Ga. L. 2015, p. 422, § 560/HB 310; Ga. L. 2016, p. 767, § 5/SB 320; Ga. L. 2017, p. 774, § 40/HB 323; Ga. L. 2024, p. 1052, § 4(55)/SB 448, effective July 1, 2024. Amendments. The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “email’ for “e-mail” in the first sentence in subsection (c).