The number of fatalities in Georgia involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers dropped from 37 in 2011 to 23 in 2012, according to preliminary data included in a report released Tuesday by the Governors Highway Safety Assoc­iation.

A Richmond County deputy injured in a crash during Operation Thunder on Friday must take a driving class.

Operation Zero Tolerance, a campaign to cut down on drunken driving, began Friday and will run through the holiday weekend.

Drivers with lead feet will be left with lighter wallets next year after a new Georgia law targeting "super speeders" goes into effect.

Doug Brown's eyebrows furrowed when he was slightly bumped by another driver while en route to downtown Augusta a couple of weeks ago.

Getting a driver's license can be an ordeal for Georgia teens, but statistics show an escalating series of restrictions and requirements appears to be improving safety.

Just a few days ago, 49 people died in a plane crash in Kentucky.

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Last year, when Janet Scott tried to teach her 16-year-old daughter, Jasmine, to drive, the experience was aggravating.

What will it take to get you to slow down on Georgia's highways? Try this. Stop what you are doing for a second and look at someone you love. It could be your spouse, your significant other, your child, a parent or your best friend. Now, imagine that person has just learned that you have been killed in a motor vehicle crash, or you find out they have been killed. Sound far-fetched? It will happen more than 1,000 times this year in Georgia. One thousand living, breathing human beings who had hopes and dreams, who brought joy to other human beings and who won't see New Year's Day.

...Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky are also in the Click It or Ticket campaign. Yvonne McBride, Atlanta, Ga. (Editor's note: The author is director of the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety.)