LOUISVILLE, Ky. — John Stuart has been a driving instructor for about 20 years and teaches at the Kentucky Driving School, which has been around for about 40 years.

“You've got to be able to bring them in steps," Stuart said. "You got to be patient with them, use a little humor with them and never yell at them because that isn't going to improve anything or get you your results." 

Stuart has taught student drivers from 16 to 70 years old, but starting Tuesday, children as young as 15 can now get a learner’s permit.

“I think they're just not ready to understand consequences that much, and that concerns me,” Stuart said.“I think they're just not ready to understand consequences that much, and that concerns me,” Stuart said.

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., signed House Bill 15, changing the permit age into law. He said on social media, “it will help working families better juggle all of life's activities.”

“To all the 15-year-olds out there, drive safely,” Beshear said in a video attached to the social media post.

Once people 15 and over pass the written and vision tests, they’ll get a permit. Permit holders can drive with qualified supervision, such as driving lessons.

“I'm sure we're going to get barraged by a bunch of calls, but I just have to explain to the kid exactly what kind of risk he's taking or she's taking," Stuart said. "Try to get him to understand and hopefully teach them and get them through." 

Although Stuart said he prefers the permit age be moved up to 17, he will continue teaching drivers using his methodology of scan, identify, predict, decide and execute.

“I'm going to prepare them the best they can and make it as simple as possible for them to understand the consequences,” he said.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Office of Highway Safety said in a press release last fall that over the past three years, the commonwealth saw more than 47,000 crashes involving a teenage driver.

Those crashes caused 210 deaths and more than 13,000 injuries, the release added.