The week that I received my driver's license was the same week that I was involved in my first car accident. It was meant to be one of the most thrilling weeks of my teenage life, a coming of age and a transition to independence and freedom. Instead, this week turned out to be one of the most frightening experiences that I have had. The incident took mere seconds, but the shock and fear that followed took a long, long time to subside. As someone with an anxiety problem that had already been around for a number of years, I wasn't sure if I could ever feel comfortable driving a car again or if driving just wasn't something that was meant for me in this lifetime.
 
 Thinking back, I did not realize the importance that this incident, although frightening, held in making me the type of driver that I am today. It made me realize just how important driver training is and how a lack thereof can pose a serious risk to young drivers behind the wheel. The driver training program that I went through at school was, unfortunately, rather shallow and impersonalized. It was all about memorizing signs and laws rather than how to drive a vehicle or think as a driver. When I went out onto the open road, alone, I did not feel as if I was adequately ready to handle actual driving situations. I knew the laws, but I didn’t know how to handle an unforeseen circumstance, and this nearly cost me my safety.
 
 Following the incident, I made a personal choice that, because of this accident, fear should never be a factor that causes me to stop driving a vehicle altogether. Taking extra lessons with a driver educator who remained calm, patient, and was sincerely committed to my regaining my confidence was a huge difference to my progress as a driver today. Rather than simply training me to pass a driving test, my educator taught me how to think as a defensive driver, anticipate other drivers' reactions, remain composed under pressure, and keep my nerves under control as well.
  
 Cars are an important part to consider when talking about ways to reduce the number of deaths that occur each year. Thousands of deaths occur each year among young drivers due to a lack of experience or distractions, but all could be reduced by a better education that instructs drivers as to what, as well as why, they should or shouldn't do something. There are a number of ways this could be achieved, including by adding examples to lessons that may relate directly to being a driver, as well as ways to reduce things like nervous driving or distractions that could occur while driving, leading a driver to make deadly decisions.
 
 A crucial action we can collectively make to lower the number of deaths related to driving is by tailoring driver training courses even more to an individualized skill level, as each person learns at a different pace and not all teens necessarily feel comfortable operating a vehicle even once they are licensed. Also, schools could link up with driving schools or programs to guarantee teens are given additional driving experience, including night driving, rain, or even driving on the highway, before they are licensed, as a safety precaution. Additionally, teachers or trainers should be well-qualified, including communication skills and a caring attitude, as this directly addresses young drivers, including myself, who feel nervous or fearful.
 
 The other equally important component involved in making safety better is the “culture of driving” itself. Far too often, people think driving a vehicle is a mundane, rather than a crucial, activity. It just so happens that my friends will drive well over the posted speed limit or text while operating their vehicle, as if they are invincible, until they are involved in an incident that leaves them shaken to their core. It is all too easy to forget how rapidly a driver may veer out of their intended path due to a mere distraction, an occurrence that will change their life or, rather, an individual's life, forever. It has been my personal crusade to remind my fellow driver if they are acting carelessly with which-ever vehicle we are in, as, by all accounts, their actions are directly tied to the safety and well-being of every other vehicle sharing the same space, including, by inference, mine.
  
 As far as what I can do personally, being a safer driver begins with self-awareness. It is a point that I make a conscious effort to avoid my cell phone while operating a vehicle, to never drive when I’m really sleepy or upset, and to plan routes well in advance so that I’m never pressed for time. It seems simple, but one thing that really has worked well for me is to make sure that my private driving lessons, which were taken following my accident, didn’t just show me how to handle a vehicle, but how to handle myself as well. Essentially, driving should no longer be a fearful experience, but rather a respected one. My personal experience with an accident was something that I could never have wished for, but somehow, out of this, I managed to learn the actual meaning of driver education. I hope that someday, schools and states will make driver education a key component, enabling each and every student to drive well, rather than just knowing how to drive. Passing a driving test is just a small part of being a good driver, as a good driver is one who guards people's lives, including their own.