Haylee
Shahrestani
Youth
Forward Scholarship
27
March 2019
The
Importance of Driving Safe
When
a person gets behind the wheel they are not only responsible for
their safety, but also the safety of everyone else around them.
Paying close attention to surroundings and following traffic laws is
very important. Drivers ed is important in reducing deaths
because everyone should know what they are doing while driving. All
drivers should know what each sign means so they can follow the rules
and drive safely.

Everyone
should research traffic laws and make sure they know them well. If a
driver is unaware of what a sign means they may make the wrong
decision and risk their life.

I
have never personally experienced a car accident because I drive very
cautiously. But my cousin was recently hit and killed by a drunk
driver when he had to get out of his car in the dark because he ran
out of gas. Not only was the driver under the influence of alcohol
but he was also speeding and not paying full attention to the road.
There should not have to be tragedies like this for people to realize
the importance of road safety, but the incident really impacted me
and helped me realize how important it really is.

I
always pay attention to my surroundings when i'm behind the wheel. I
use techniques I learned in drivers ed to make sure I am not putting
myself or anyone else at risk. One of the most useful things I
learned was the acronym SMOG which is for switching lanes and it
stands for signal, mirrors, over the shoulder, and then go. A few
other things I do to stay safe on the road is not using my cell phone
while driving, and always buckling in. I tell my friends to use the
steps of SMOG while they are driving, always pay attention to
everything around them, and follow all traffic laws. I also stress
the importance of not texting and driving, and I make sure everyone
in my car is buckled in.