Proper practice, safety, and education while driving are all some of the most important aspects for a simple thing such as driving, which can easily and quickly become lethal if proper care isn’t given. In the summer before my senior year, after a football workout, me and 3 of my friends decided to go eat in a nearby city. After we stopped and ate we were driving back when one of my friends, who had barely any sleep over the past two days and had endured two days of football practices, starting to doze off on the wheel and inadvertently started veering off to the side of the road. Me and my other friends managed to wake him up before the vehicle flipped, and he quickly pulled over to the side of the road, after which we switched drivers. This was certainly a harrowing experience for me and my friends, as it was the closest we had been to a potentially fatal situation, but it also showed to me the importance of better driving safety. My friends and I should’ve realized that the one driving was near exhausted and tired, and suggested someone else drive, but we didn’t. We were simply too caught in our lives to notice something like that. This is when I realized that safety was vitally important when it comes to driving. Staying focused on the road, avoiding distractions, and noticing any irregularities in both you and your vehicle can help reduce the number of deaths that can occur while driving, as you can ensure that both you and your car are operating in top form. Proper drivers ed is important in helping drivers recognize these issues. Aside from obviously telling them what they should be looking at and that they should stay focused, more in-depth education can help teach drivers what could go wrong with their vehicle and how to best fix it and ensure that they remain safe. This ranges from the problems that the dashboard tells you about to more nuanced things that could impact your diving. In terms of being a better driver yourself I think that proper precautions and checks before and after driving, along with staying focused and trying to be in top condition while driving can reduce the number of accidents and subsequent casualties that may occur.