Driving a car is the equivalent to handling a weapon: you must know how to use it and follow the rules provided to ensure everyone remains safe. Cars are one of the most dangerous forms of transportation, and with so many people on the road, it is imperative that you understand the rules of the road to avoid accidents with others. However, you must also practice driving, otherwise you will feel uncomfortable and get yourself into an accident that way. This is why drivers ed is so tremendously important: it teaches you the rules of the road while also allowing you to practice so you feel comfortable and confident when driving. In doing so, a person becomes less of a hazard to everyone else on the road.

Although a drivers ed class is incredibly important to all drivers, one must make a conscious decision to follow the rules they’ve learned. To reduce the number of deaths, this is the most important step. To say that you will follow the rules of the road—whether that means stopping at stop signs, going at the speed limit, or not going on your phone—means you are making a conscious decision to aid in decreasing the amount of lives lost each year on the road.

Although I nor anyone in my family have been in a serious accident before, I have seen many people on the road driving irresponsibly. The street I live on intersects with another street and both have stop signs. Every day, if you stand by those stop signs long enough, you will see too many people going through the stop signs as if they weren’t there. All of these people have made the conscious decision to ignore one of the most simple rules of the road. Knowing that so many people are willing to ignore these rules makes one hesitant to drive on the road.

In order to always be a safe driver, I will always make the conscious decision to follow the rules of the road and not allow myself to be distracted by things such as my phone. Whenever I practice driving, I always turn my phone on Do Not Disturb so I don’t have the urge to check it whenever someone sends me a text. I will follow these same rules to ensure that my friends and family are being safe drivers.