Growing up, my parents always told me that “When you're behind the wheel you're not only driving yourself, but you're driving for everyone around you”. I didn’t understand what they meant, but as I got older, I realized the true responsibility that comes with driving. When you drive, you have everyone’s life in your hands including yours, your passengers, and everyone around you. In the blink of an eye you can be on a fun outing with family or friends, and the next second you can be upside down on the side of the road trying to save your own life. As sad as this may be, it’s the harsh reality of what comes with the serious responsibility of driving. This is why there are so many requirements people have to go through in order to get a driver's license.

When it comes to driving, everyone thinks about the up-sides, and never the down-sides. People may try to speed in order to impress their peers or seem cool in front of certain people, but are you going to look cool if you crash? Are you going to look cool if you injure someone while driving or worse? These are questions you must ask yourself before making these sorts of decisions. Decision making is key when driving and people who don’t think things through always end up getting into difficult situations. Car crashes are one of the leading causes of death for our youth in today’s society. I think it’s because drivers are becoming more and more careless due to the freedom that is given when being behind the wheel on your own. This freedom causes people to act out and do things they normally wouldn’t do just to increase their social status. The sad truth is that people won’t stop their careless behavior until it’s too late.

The importance of driver’s education is that it helps people get comfortable and learn the rules of the road.I am from Maryland, and since 2020, we have had 2,527 lives lost due to driving fatalities. Some steps that can be taken to reduce driving deaths are: (1) reduce speed when driving, (2) issue higher ticket fee when people are caught speeding, (3) pay more attention to what the drivers around you are doing, and (4) reduce the maximum speed of certain very fast cars. As someone who’s seen first hand what it's like for a crash to cause a death, it’s scary knowing that when you get into a car, whether you are the one driving or not, there is a chance you can wake up in an ambulance. This is why it’s so important to slow down, follow the law, and to pay attention at all times when driving. Let me tell you about the car accident I witnessed. In 2017, I was in the car with my Mom and brother on the way to our bus stop, when a white car sped past us on the shoulder rocking our vehicle because they were driving so fast. Another car, coming from the opposite direction, made a left turn and the white car rammed into the passenger side of the other vehicle at full speed. The white car went airborne and landed in someone's yard. The car that was hit spun around several times before coming to a stop. The woman driving the car that was hit later died from her injuries. From that day forward, my parents instilled in my brother and I the importance of the responsibility of driving. That crash was scary to witness and it changed all of us. The impact of that crash scared me and I did not want to end up in a situation like the accident I witnessed.

A few steps we can take to improve the safety of the roads are:(1) stricter laws for people who use their phones while driving: (2) watch your surroundings when driving. While I am driving, I am always on the lookout for potentially bad drivers I should stay away from because a lot of them have one specific tendency: impatience. I don’t ever want to put my loved ones or myself into a potentially harmful situation, so it’s a must to take proper precautions. People don’t do this enough or think things through. People are always thinking about the now, and not the impact their decisions are going to have on them or maybe other people in the future.

In conclusion, as a new driver, I’m glad I knew to take the proper precautions to make sure that I can keep my family, friends and I safe. I know for others this may be difficult to do, especially if it isn’t what you're accustomed to, but instead of thinking short term, think long term. Think to yourself, “Do I really need to speed to get there?”, “Do I really need to make this light?” These are simple but important questions that can save lives. When behind the wheel, one wrong move can turn into something that you have to live with for the rest of your life. This is why it’s necessary to teach the importance of decision-making and patience.