Driver's Education was a breeze for me but it taught me what to do in some situations and how to maneuver my way to safety in others. First and foremost, driving in real life is nothing like Forza, GTA, or any car simulators. The reason being is that driving is dangerous, as you only have one chance, you don’t respawn, you don't pass and collect 200$, and without the proper focus, mindset, and education, you could end up getting severely injured or worse. Driver's education is like math, but for driving, if you don’t do the equation right, then your answer is wrong. The same concept with driving is as if you don’t stop at a stop light or many other possibilities, it’s not just a bad grade you're gonna get. They taught me to stay sharp and focused and always keep my eyes on my surroundings, which was a thing that I learned from being a football player. Coach always says,”keep your head on a swivel”, meaning be aware of your surroundings, As well as, taking the proper precautions such as a seatbelt, headlights when needed, and proper angles of your side and front mirror. They teach you the basics of different signs and different roads that have different terrains and different rules for them, making them unique to themselves.

There are many different steps and many different ways to make sure you are safe while driving and keeping others safe around you. One of the biggest slogans that you will see all around the world is,”Click It, Or Ticket '' Meaning, always click your seatbelt. Seat Belts aren’t just there to look pretty, they are far more important than many people think. They act as protection from flying out of the car if you were to get into a car accident, keep you supported and keep you in place, and they work with air bags as well. Airbags come at you at around 8-14 mph, meaning that once deployed, they will be out in about 55 milliseconds. Imagine that you were without a seat belt and you were coming at the air bag at the same time as it was. That could cause major injuries and could even cost you your life. Another step would be to be aware of your surroundings. Just because you are doing the right thing doesn’t mean that everyone around you is doing it as well. Another thing is to turn on your headlights when needed. If they aren’t in your vision in front of you, it is severely diminished and could cause you to not see potholes or other cars, causing wrecks and problems all around you.

The most vivid car accident I remember was when my mom, my brother, and I were on our way to Winsconsin to see my uncles and a lady was not paying attention and slid into our car at around 35 mph. Luckily, my mom was aware of what was happening and slowed down to avoid a head to head collision at high speeds. Unfortunately for me, I had forgotten to wear my seatbelt and I was thrown from the third row of seats all the way to the front driver's seat and hit my head on the hard plastic. No one was severely injured, but maybe I should have taken this advice to use then. In total, I have 5 brothers. The two oldest are very irresponsible drivers. They drive at high speeds and pass stop signs and listen to music at the maximum volume, which will distract you while driving. Whenever I am with them, I make sure to have my seatbelt secured and tight and always turn the music down before it gets too loud.

As I talked about, there are so many different ways to stay safe and keep others safe around you. Such as, wearing your seatbelt, turning on your headlights when needed, paying attention to the road as well as others around you, but I forgot to mention two that are super important and super dangerous. The first one is that you should never drive while intoxicated or under the influence of any visually impairing or mind-altering substances that can cause you to lose focus or not see straight. This is a very illegal yet very common situation that happens a lot of times and is a big cause of crashes and fatalities while in a car. The second is not to text and drive. Your focus should always be on the road ahead of you and never on your screen. Texting while driving is dangerous and is one of the biggest problems that people have while driving and causes some very serious and scary situations that can cause big problems. I hope this Essay was informative and taught you to be safe and always pay attention while driving.