Most of society overlooks the phrase “impaired driving.” To me, impaired driving is more than just a term that you need to know to get your driver’s license. People memorize the definition to pass the driver’s test and then forget it immediately after. Drivers acknowledge and accept that impaired driving exists and that it is a horrible thing, but they leave it at that. Their brain labels the information as unnecessary clutter and decides to discard it. When they encounter the topic again, they often cannot recall what it actually means, so their mind creates its own version of the definition. This is why impaired driving is misunderstood, even by people who have completed driver’s education.

Impaired driving is the active operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of anything that reduces judgment, reaction time, or awareness. Everyone knows that alcohol and drugs are major contributors, but impairment is broader than that. While I think most people recognize the dangers of substance impairment, I believe the most common contributing factor today, especially among younger drivers, is texting while driving. People convince themselves that they can multitask, that they can look down for a moment and still remain in control. The problem is that no human is truly capable of multitasking while driving. Your brain switches between tasks instead of doing them simultaneously, which creates a dangerous blind spot that lasts longer than most people realize. Many drivers underestimate the focus that driving requires because their ego is inflated by years of experience behind the wheel. They think routine equals safety, even when that confidence is misplaced.

Texting and driving leads the driver to become distracted, and that fraction of a second can be the difference between life and death. Not only do they put themselves at risk, but they endanger everyone around them. In my driver’s ed class, we watched compilations of bad drivers every now and then. The videos did not always show exactly what the driver was doing, but you could tell the person was impaired in some way because their attention was completely gone. Their car would drift across lanes, miss stop signs, or slam on the brakes at the last second. Watching these clips, I realized how fast an ordinary moment on the road could turn disastrous.

I have seen people get into devastating accidents simply because someone decided to drive when they should not have. When you see car accident survivors telling their stories, you naturally think that it could never happen to you. The truth is that it has nothing to do with luck. Everything depends on your choices and your behavior behind the wheel. After seeing these incidents and understanding how fragile safety is, the lesson stayed with me. Personally, I never want to be the cause of someone else’s death or my own due to a preventable mistake. No one deserves to suffer life altering consequences because another driver decided to be careless. Getting behind the wheel every day is a privilege, and it should never be taken for granted.

Driver’s education and traffic school courses have the power to change attitudes and behaviors around impaired driving by presenting harsh statistics and real world examples. These programs are effective because they force students to confront the reality that every decision on the road matters. They show you what can happen when a driver is even slightly less alert than they should be. One tip I learned and actually use is simple but important. If you suspect that a driver around you is impaired or behaving unpredictably, let them pass you or create a large amount of distance between your car and theirs. Keeping your distance gives you time to react if they suddenly swerve, ignore signals, or do something that places you in danger.

Preventing impaired driving also requires taking responsibility when you have the chance. For example, if a friend insists on driving after drinking at a party, you should not let them. Taking their keys or driving for them might feel uncomfortable in the moment, but it protects them, you, and every other driver on the road. A real friend does not stand by silently while someone takes a risk that could destroy their life. Another way that I and the rest of society can reduce impaired driving is simply by spreading awareness. The more informed people are about how dangerous impairment is, the less likely they are to repeat the same mistakes that others never got the chance to learn from.

Impaired driving is not just a statistic. It is a decision. And it only takes one bad decision to change everything. That is why education, awareness, and personal responsibility matter. When people understand how quickly a small distraction can become a tragedy, they drive differently. I plan to continue sharing what I have learned, making responsible choices, and encouraging others to do the same. If even one person chooses safety because of something I say or do, then it is already worth it.