Impaired driving is a point where a person's judgment, response, or alertness falls short of what is required to ensure that all drivers on the road are safe. To me, it is any situation that clouds a person’s judgment to the point that they may not see danger quickly enough to avoid it. Clearly, there is a misconception about this because most people associate it with one thing: when they've had a little too much to drink and they proceed to get behind the wheel. This is not true because drivers, including those who have attended traffic school, often overlook the extent of the issue and tend to think it only happens in extreme cases. They tend to feel they can drive because they feel okay when their body is saying something different.

The main sources of impairment currently are alcohol, drugs, distraction, and fatigue. Alcohol and drugs affect a person’s physical ability to coordinate and respond because they increase the time the brain takes to process information. Additionally, they cause a person to become overconfident, which makes them more likely to take risks. The issue with texting while driving is that it is a source of impairment that is hard to identify because it does not affect how one feels physically. The issue is that it distracts drivers at a time when they need to give their complete attention. A driver can take a glance away to look at her text message, and this can make her miss a traffic light, drift out of her lane, or ignore a pedestrian crossing the street. Fatigue is similar because it is a source of impairment, as an exhausted brain has a hard time being alert and responsive to make timely decisions to avoid an accident.

A personal experience that I heard opened my eyes to the realities of impaired driving more than any manual could. This is because our family friend shared her experience in high school with us. This woman was not driving after having any drinks. Further, she was not using her phone while driving. This is because she had stayed up late studying for her exam. As such, when she got into her car to head home, she dozed off momentarily. This led to her drifting into another lane. This experience affected both drivers, but they could not change what occurred. Hearing this woman describe how brief and silent this experience was opened my eyes to how often we tend to think that we can only experience danger when we make poor decisions. This is because we sometimes experience danger due to ordinary occurrences, such as late nights, long work hours, and a normal level of stress throughout the week.

Driving school and traffic safety educational programs can change attitudes by making impairment concrete rather than abstract. The most effective educational programs provide more than just facts and figures, emphasizing how unsafe behaviors impact others. Live demonstrations and scenario-based activities allow for a greater retention of information, rather than simply taking a quiz. As long as they understand how impairment can affect reaction time, how being distracted can impact decision-making, and how fatigue can affect one’s awareness, they can distinguish between feeling capable and being capable while operating a motor vehicle. Good programs will train them to plan ahead, recognize early warning signs of impairment, and not get into a vehicle that is not safe to operate.

The key to the success of these programs is that they emphasize both responsibility and reflection. Rather than viewing dangerous driving by intoxicated drivers as a sequence of unexpected incidents, these programs view it as something drivers can choose to avoid. Since these individuals understand that a safe roadway is one on which each person chooses to make wise decisions, they can better appreciate how they, themselves, can avoid contributing to danger. They can appreciate how easy it is to stretch one’s brain to its limits.

As an individual, my involvement in preventing DUI begins with setting examples that I wish to see in other individuals. For example, I can decide not to drive while feeling drowsy, stressed, and/or distracted, even if it causes me some inconvenience. I can call out a buddy if he/she attempt to send a message while operating a motor vehicle. I can lend someone a ride home or call a taxicab if he/she appear to be unaware of the danger they actually pose on the road. Most importantly, I can share what I have learned and what helped form my personal perception, meaning stories that influenced my perspectives. Sometimes, people change only after witnessing others take things seriously.

Impaired driving continues to rank among the top most preventable causes of deadly accidents, and while education is not enough to deal with each and every danger, I believe that quality training, open talk, and personal ownership can make a huge difference. As long as drivers are aware of how easily they can become impaired and how significantly it can impact others, they will make better decisions to keep themselves and those around them safe on the roads. This is what I plan to take with me wherever I go.