I was going over the speed limit and passed a police officer on my road. He turned his police lights on and made me pull over. I didn't hear the siren that police cars have so I don't think he used them. We were on a country road so I wasn't expecting to see a cop at all and I was really surprised. He talked a little but I it is hard to remember what he said exactly. I think he said “you know why I pulled you over”. I said “because I was speeding” or something like that. I didn't feel like wasting anymore of his time.  He didn't give me a ticket or take away my license but I still learned a very important lesson. Safety is one of the most important things to worry about, and should always be taken seriously. I don't think that I realized the dangers of reckless driving until two students from pennfield died in a tragic car accident a few weeks later.  Always drive safe because you never know what could happen.

After the the accident the whole school had an assembly and people came to talk about safe driving and some very important topics. They had some of the girls personal items there like their school bags, which showed us how they were really gone and weren't coming back. It showed me how delicate a life is. I know to drive safe now and take it seriously every time I get on the road.

I also have a motorcycle now, so it is important that I got the important message. It seems every week you hear something on the news about a motorcycle crash and how the rider died. In the past two week I saw two different stories of riders crashing their bikes. The first one the guy died on the scene, today the guy was seriously injured and had to be air lifted to the hospital. I know that riding is dangerous, but it is only as dangerous as you make it. That's why I try to make it as safe as possible by following all the rules and always wearing a helmet.

Some people believe that some of the driving laws should change. Now I don't know every law, so I don't know what should be changed and what should be kept the same. I don't really know if changing the laws would really change much because people can't follow them if they don't bother to stay updated. Even when we know what is good and bad, people will still do bad for no reason. Like drinking and driving everyone knows its bad but people still do it. I find it easy to keep it simple: drive within a safe speed (sometimes that means speeding slightly), use my signals, use my headlights in low light conditions, clear my blind spots, use my mirrors, maintain a safe following distance, consider the road and weather conditions, etc.; I guess after listing all this maybe it’s not so simple after all, but it’s still beneficial to remember the basics and follow the rules. This will at least minimize the chances that something will happen.

So in the end, this essay is just another rambling of words telling you to drive safe and be smart. What matters is that each time you get behind the wheel or get on your motorcycle that you understand that simply following the posted speed, following the norms of driving and watching out for the other “donkeys” (as my dad tells them they are number “1”) will at least give you a chance of avoiding an accident. Learn from one of my mistakes and keep it simple by not speeding, especially past the county sheriffs in Pennfield. If you do happen to get pulled over, then let them know you’ll learn from your mistakes (and hope to get lucky like I did not getting a ticket). I'm glad I wrote about this because reminded to drive safe and be smart.