It always pains us to run obituaries in the newspaper - even more so when it involves young people still in the prime of their lives.

We reported on the deaths of four people on covnews.com this weekend, all of whom were killed in automobile or four-wheeler related accidents.

We don't like to have to remind you to obey the rules of the road, but doing so might have saved four lives this weekend.

One woman was killed when her vehicle overturned and she was ejected. She was not wearing her seatbelt. There is no excuse not to wear a seatbelt. Study after study has proven they save lives.

An additional two lives were taken when a stop sign was run. Nobody on this editorial board is perfect; we've all run a stop sign that we didn't see at least once before. We were lucky. We urge everyone in the road to be cautious and always pay attention. It only takes one second of inattention to crash a car.

In addition, the editorial board is always wary of recreational vehicles, which when operated safely can provide hours of fun, but have a great risk for injury when used incorrectly. This weekend an accident cost one Walton county teen her life and injured another.

We urge our residents to be safe. We want your achievements and words to grace our newspaper, not your obituaries.