Driving is a privilege that some people do not deserve. It comes with many responsibilities that a lot of drivers cannot hold up to. We live in a world where it’s normal (and almost expected) for people to have control over a vehicle that they cannot give their full, undivided attention to. 

Impaired driving means to be driving despite some type of circumstance in which you are not aware of your fullest potential. There are so many different things that can inhibit your ability to drive whether it be a distraction, substances, emotions, or fatigue. This concept is frequently misunderstood because many people assume that impaired driving just means driving under the influence. Many folks see that and think, “Well, I never drunk drive, so I am not an impaired driver!” Meanwhile, they are typing paragraphs going down the highway or driving home after a 16 hour shift. If you have taken the 8 hour long course to get your permit, you know that the course was very heavy on drug and alcohol use on the road. This is why people with an education in driving can also get those terms mixed up. The schooling focuses so much on substance use while driving that they tend to forget the importance of phone use, fatigue, or even driving while taking an unfamiliar medication. It is so important to learn the difference between impaired driving and driving under the influence because they are not the same.

I think that texting is one of the most common types of impairment among drivers. Society has such a huge addiction to their phones and many people get bored while driving, so what better thing is there to do? Especially with teenagers, there seems to be a fear of the talking-on-the-phone epidemic where everyone is allergic to making a phone call and feels the need to text everything! There are so many features on new vehicles that attempt to minimize the amount of phone usage a person should do in the car, but sometimes they just serve to be another distraction. Next time, try turning on a podcast that sounds interesting or calling (before you start driving) that family member that you haven't talked to in a while. Before you know it, you'll be pulling up to your destination and you can text all you want when you park! Drunk driving is still extremely prevalent in the United States but I hope that the rise of resources such as Uber will start to decrease the amount of drunk driving accidents. The main issue there is that people are too confident in their driving skills or may not even realize how intoxicated they actually are. The biggest difference between device usage and intoxication while driving is that one is simply just a distraction while the other is actually messing with the chemistry in your brain. We all make mistakes, of course, but it only takes one mistake to take someone's life and ruin many others. Next time you want to respond to that text, just pull over.

The week before 16. It is such a euphoric feeling. You are planning all of the places you’ll go when you get your license and making a playlist for the first time you get to drive alone! A week before I turned 16, two of my schoolmates passed away in a car accident. All of a sudden, getting my license sounded a little more scary. That feeling sits in the back of my mind every single time I get in the car now. The accident was not caused by impaired driving however, it completely changed my perspective on how fast someone's world can turn upside down. Parents lost their children and I can only imagine how they felt knowing that one simple mistake changed their lives forever. My parents have done everything in their power to keep me safe my entire life. The least that I could do in return is to make sure that I am never in an unsafe driving environment. It is such a blessing that I have never been personally affected by an impaired driver, nor any of my loved ones. I know that I have a few guardian angels watching every time I get behind the wheel. I will never have the mindset of, “Oh, that would never happen to me!” because I have experienced enough loss to know that yes, it can. Every driver should have some type of fear every time they get on the road. That fear may be what keeps you or someone else alive.

Traffic school courses can be highly beneficial for people who actually pay attention and take something from them. Personally, I think that they should be required biannually for anyone with a license. They can be very heavy in actual footage or simulations of crashes. If there is one way to change someone's perspective, it is by triggering their emotions. Many people do not realize how fast 45 MPH is until you actually watch a simulation of a car crash at that speed. Scaring someone out of impaired driving is one of the main goals of traffic school courses. Drivers education also talks a lot about finances and how accidents can really mess someone's wallet up in the long run. Emotions and money are probably the two main things that direct any human being toward any decision which is what makes these courses so effective in changing attitudes towards impaired driving. The programmes play a role in real world situations as well because there are so many scenarios in these courses in which you would have to make a decision and see how that affected your outcome. If you accidentally make a wrong decision and “crash”, it would probably put enough fear in you that you wouldn’t do that in an actual situation. It can also be effective for good habit making, such as slowing down at an appropriate time. As I stated before, I think that these courses should be required on a regular basis to keep drivers aware of the risks of impaired driving. 

The biggest role that I can play to prevent impaired driving is to never drive impaired myself. I want to be able to set an example for others. Impaired driving is so normalized and we need to reverse that. It is not cool to use your phone on the road. It is not cool to pretend like you are sober enough to drive. I want to make a change. I will never get in the car with someone who is not fit to drive either. If I ever hear someone talking about the fact that they drive impaired in some way shape or form, I want to use that opportunity to educate and to reverse that normalization of it. 

Help me be the change. Stop acting like it is normal for someone to casually drive impaired. It is costing lives on top of lives and we have to take control over it.