Emily Ricks A3 College Prep Dr. Sledge When sitting in the passenger seat, you want to feel safe with the driver. Many people easily forget the importance of having simple knowledge of driving and how to keep yourself and others safe. When someone has the knowledge to drive, they are thinking of the safety of the people of the passenger seat and others. If anyone you get a ride with seems to be very neglectant of what they are doing on the road then please reconsider riding with them. There are many things that can be taken into consideration to reduce the number of deaths in and with vehicles. One is to always do a seat belt check. Many people who have never experienced an actual accident see a seat belt as an annoyance but really it can save and has saved so many lives. The next step you can take to make sure you ride safe is to make sure you or the person driving you is in well condition. If you/they are not in good mental or physical condition, then it is probably best to take a taxi or an uber to be safe. My dad has experienced a bad accident. My dad is the one who created the accident by not being smart behind the steering wheel. He does not correct his ways. That might be the scariest part. He does not realize that he is scaring and worrying the people in the car and the people in the streets. I will never do the ignorant things he does behind the steering wheel because I have great anxiety about driving because of that. Because you may trust your own driving or the person driving you but you should not trust the people on the road with you. One time my best friend was driving me home from school when some kid went up to the back of her car and smacked it. She was so angry that she opened her car door and ran out to the kid to fuss at him. I was left alone in a moving car that I had no idea how to work correctly. I took action and climbed into the driver's seat to try to halt the car before any damage was inflicted. I was so scared that I forgot which petal was the break. I took a guess and got very lucky. The car was stopped and I was terrified. I yelled for my friend to come back inside the car. After that incident I lectured her to never put anyone in the driver's seat or around you in danger just because you were upset. I had to remind her how badly damaged the car could have been and how bad I could have gotten hurt from it. I told myself then that I would never do what she had done to me. She is a much better driver now but I still get a little nervous in the car with her driving. Drive safely always.