To me, impaired driving means driving at a less than normal functioning level. Whether this means under the influence of drugs or alcohol, being distracted by texting or passengers or even just feeling exhausted, it is the inability to drive safely because of something impacting your reaction, judgement, and awareness. Especially for young drivers, “impaired” is often linked to being under the influence of substances, although there are many other situations that could result in impaired driving. Young drivers may also not be used to exhaustion from balancing a job and stressors such as more intense classes and demanding extra-curricular activities. They don’t necessarily realize that being tired, malnourished or driving a car full of friends can have a negative effect on your driving abilities as well. During driver’s education courses, we learned to avoid mixing substances and driving, however we only briefly discussed the dangers of driving while fatigued. This imbalance may lead to teens not really giving a thought to driving under circumstances where they are not as awake and aware as they should be. 

In today’s world, the most common form of impairment is definitely cellphones. Nearly everybody has a cellphone on them or in front of them at all times. In many situations, it can be a blessing to have help only a phone call or text away. However, it also provides an easy distraction for drivers of any age. It can lead to accidents where high speeds or pedestrians create situations where drivers need to be 100% focused on the road and their surroundings. A split second used to check a text could lead to a disastrous accident.  Cell phones are a distraction almost regardless of where they are, such as in  a pocket, where it can’t be seen but the driver can feel every alert.  Every vibration signals that someone is reaching out or commenting on a post or updating their story. The driver is immediately distracted, thinking about what it could possibly be. Should I check it? What if it’s important? Some drivers, especially if they use an app for directions, will secure it to a stand in front of them for easy viewing. Yes, this is helpful for directions, but they can also view every text, every Snap, every update that comes in. Now the driver is thinking more about the news that’s coming in or whether or not they should respond, rather than to the road and their driving. Even though there are voice texting options, these are still distractions on the road. The driver must remember that they are responsible for themself, their passengers, other cars, and all pedestrians. This can be challenging without added distractions, and can lead to disastrous accidents if not taken seriously. 

I’ve only been driving for two years but I’ve unfortunately come across many people distracted behind the wheel. They almost miss an exit or don’t brake in time and now they’re slamming on the brakes or squeezing into tight spaces in the lanes next to them because they were fixing their maps or getting a snack from their backseat passenger. Again, one that I see too often is drivers on their phones. Maybe they only grab their phone at a red light, however when the light turns green and they continue to sit there and hold up traffic they can cause unsafe situations as drivers and pedestrians around them are expecting them to go. Other common distractions are fatigue due to lack of sleep or from being behind the wheel for a long time without a break. There could also be loud passengers whether it’s a crying child or rambunctious kids, but there still needs to be an awareness of this and an attempt to calm the situation down and refocus. However small a distraction while driving may seem at the time, it is the driver’s responsibility to be safe and drive defensively as they are taught to during driver’s education courses. 

I always make sure that music in my car is at a tolerable volume so nobody needs to change it while moving and that my phone is in a center console where I can’t feel it. This helps me maximize my attention to the road and the safety of myself and others.

Drivers education courses help bring awareness to impaired driving by describing the variety of things that fall under the description. When kids learn about the countless ways that people can be “impaired”, they start to realize the importance of being a responsible driver and making sure they do their part to be as safe as they can for everyone else. The more students can learn about different situations, outcomes, and consequences in a class, the better understanding they will have in a real-world situation because of the preparation. It's equally important to learn about easy to address those distractions so that they have a response ready, especially if it involves friends or other teens. Early, controlled exposure to common issues on the road and what they lead to, might scare, but also inform the new drivers what to look out for both in themselves and in those driving on the roads around them.

Personally, I can make smart decisions like hiding my phone and not eating or drinking while I’m driving as well as helping others by being a respectful passenger in their vehicles. Simple tasks as a passenger like reading off maps or controlling music pulls those factors away from the driver allowing them to focus on the road and the safety of their passengers. By setting an example for my younger siblings and younger students and teammates, I can help make sure that new drivers in my community are growing up building good habits and are well prepared to drive as safe a possible like being aware of things around them that might distract them or other drivers around them, leading to safer roadways and hopefully a decrease in dangerous accidents.