You never think it will happen until it does. You’re driving as usual until, suddenly, everything stops. You stop driving, thinking, breathing, and the only sounds that surround you are that of muffled screams and the repetitive screeching of sirens. Even as the paramedics come and wheel you away, there’s still this sense of confusion and wonder as to what could have possibly happened in such a short amount of time that could lead to so much chaos. That’s how my uncle described his experience as we stood beside his bed the night after the incident. Now, years later, it's hard for me to recount the exact details of the event, but I remember distinctly the strange, dissociative state he was in the whole night. My aunt had received a call hours earlier saying that my uncle had gotten into a car crash and that we had to arrive at the hospital as soon as possible. She was crying for the entirety of the drive while my cousins tried to calm her down, but she was inconsolable. Eventually, when we reached his room, we rushed to check on him, but he was hardly the uncle I had known just hours previously. He seemed so jaded, so lost, and so confused that it was hard to know if he understood the severity of the situation he was just in. He could have died and left all of us without an important family member; those few seconds that constituted the crash could have been life-changing. My uncle was never well educated; he came from an unsafe home with an unstable school system. He had gotten his license and was free to drive on the road, but years of driving made him rusty, and his eyesight was quickly falling short of what it used to be. All these factors contributed to that fateful day, when he made an incorrect U-turn and smashed into another driver. He was incredibly lucky that day; he could have easily lost his life from that quick mistake. The truth is, he knows this; we all know this, and yet reckless and irresponsible driving still persists in our society. Thousands of individuals are uneducated on matters relating to road safety and driver’s education, and such a lack of knowledge can be ultimately devastating. This is why driver education is so pivotal, so we can tackle this epidemic of ignorance head-on and foster a safer road for all drivers. My uncle in particular decided not to wear his glasses the day of the accident, not knowing how important having proper prescription eye lenses can be when driving. It's this same lack of understanding that so many others across the nation share, and this shared ignorance takes lives daily. By encouraging driver education and making more people readily aware of the rules and regulations of the road, we can greatly decrease the amount of needless deaths that arise as a result of a lack of knowledge on the road. I believe numerous steps can be taken to help encourage a safer environment on the road. As a society, we need to mainly focus on educating the masses on various road rules, no matter how seemingly insignificant. We need to work to inform more people that driving without proper eyewear is unsafe, that constantly checking one’s rearview mirrors is pivotal, that it is necessary to make sure tires are properly inflated, and so much more. All of these details may seem minor, but in the grand scheme of things, they could be the determining factor between life and death. By making this sort of information more readily accessible through everyday mediums like advertisements, videos, and articles, these topics will be more prevalent in people’s minds. This should hopefully encourage safer driving among the masses. Another important topic to tackle is educating teenage drivers as well as senior drivers. Both of these groups are at increased risk of car accidents, so by focusing on helping these groups become safer drivers, we not only help these groups but every other group of drivers by making the roads safer. Lasty, we need to encourage caution among all drivers. The more comfortable people get with driving, the more risks these individuals take, which can be dangerous not only to themselves but to other drivers as well. We must work to encourage caution in drivers by making sure roads are adequately policed and monitored. Not just that, but we need to encourage drivers to perform small acts of caution as well, like reading the operating manuals of cars they buy and keeping a spare tire in their car at all times. When I speak about driving, I refer to all drivers, myself included. Sometimes I find myself tempted to speed when I’m late for class or too busy listening to music to check my rearview mirror. Everytime time I catch myself acting in this manner, I remember my uncle and everything he endured, and I work quickly to correct my behavior. This is how I work towards being a better driver: by ensuring I follow all the rules of the road and extra precautionary rules of my own to ensure my own safety and the safety of those around me. I always make sure all my car’s parts are in working order, and I consistently check my blind spots to ensure maximum safety while I drive. If we all work together to fix our driving habits, to educate ourselves on road laws, and to ensure the safety of ourselves and our fellow drivers, we can drastically decrease the number of driving-related deaths in our country.