Getting one’s driver’s license is one of the biggest achievements that a teenager can achieve. From popular media, family stories, and overall cultural sentiment, it signifies a young adult gaining their freedom and getting their start in the adult world. Of course, to actually get one’s license, it requires many hours of driver’s education before they can even get behind the wheel, then it requires even more time spent training with a certified teacher before one can take their actual drivers test. These hours and days are the most influential time in teaching a new driver about safety. Bad habits are hard to break, but easy to make. It is the job of driver’s education to offer correct advice on driving protocol and tips on driving safely. Likewise, it is the responsibility of a driving instructor or parent to pay attention to the student’s driving and break any unsafe tendencies. Making sure that new drivers know the order of checking their mirrors, then blindspot before moving the wheel to switch lanes is essential for every prospective driver on the freeways. There are more driving tips that can be offered, but the most important thing to teach a new driver is time management. Most of the time, someone will drive over the speed limit because they are running late for something, like school or an event. Having the skills to plan out a schedule is already a useful skill, and becomes even more useful for new drivers who don’t yet have the experience to estimate driving times and might have the tendency to leave later than they should. The most important part of time management that every student should learn is that speeding never saves any time. Even though going twenty over the limit feels way faster, it does not save as much time as it would seem. With a speed limit of sixty-five, going eighty-five miles per hour hardly shaves off a fourth of the time spent on the freeways. That might seem worthwhile, but in reality most of the time loss while driving comes from normal streets with stop lights and signs. Of course, people should not be flying down residential streets, or blowing through stop signs, but they should understand that just a couple of stop signs or one red light cancel out the time that they “saved” by speeding. Another terrible habit, following too closely, has very similar causes. When someone sees the car in front of them pull away, they think that they are going too slow and therefore losing time. However, it is much more likely that the proceeding car is simply speeding themselves. Driving is an unpredictable experience, and no one can predict when someone might need to slam on their brakes. Usually being attentive of the road will be enough to not have to slam on the brakes, but not every driver is paying attention. No one can control what the driver in front of them is doing, but they can control how they react to it. Simply keeping a safe distance behind the car offers ample time to react and brake accordingly. Sadly, people underestimate what a “safe distance” actually is and follow way too closely behind the car ahead. This coupled with the lack of attention drivers give to the road nowadays leads to way more high speed crashes than there should be. Personally, I have been in a car that was rear-ended on the freeway. My sister was driving my mother and I, when all of a sudden, the driver two cars ahead decided to slam on their brakes. The car ahead of us was too close to that car, so they swerved into a different lane to avoid crashing. This caught my sister off guard, but she was able to brake in time. However, there was a college student behind who, even though she had kept a safe distance, was not paying enough attention to notice the stopped cars in front of her. She hit her brakes too late and rear ended our car. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Now that I am driving, I tend to not only pay attention to the car in front of me, but the car in front of them as well. My father was really strict when I started driving, so I picked up good habits early on, but I have had a couple of close calls myself. The main way that I can stay safe on the road is to ensure that my vision is never compromised. One time, my windshield was really greasy. On top of that, the sun was right ahead of me, causing a really bad glare, and I could discern anything other than the shape of the cars in front of me. I came to a stop sign and thinking that the street was clear, started to turn right. However, a mom and her two kids were going through the crosswalk at the time. Somehow, I noticed them and stopped before I hit anyone, but that taught me that having good vision is the most important part of driving. Therefore, everyone should wear glasses if they need them. This includes sunglasses for when the sun is in their eyes. Also, making sure that the car is clean, including the rearview and side mirrors will help to prevent any unnecessary mishap. Driving is a complicated act, and while controlling the car gets better with experience, knowing how one should behave on the road is not a naturally acquired skill. People should realize that they have all the time in the world to daydream or call their friends when they are not driving, and need to regard it as an inherently dangerous part of life.