Impaired driving. We're always told about it in our high school health class and driver’s education. Don't get drunk at a random party and drive away in your vehicle, don't get into a vehicle with someone who is clearly drunk, and only drive with people you trust. This information is a mandatory aspect of our health curriculum. But truthfully, that's not really what "impaired driving" is. Impaired driving is when anybody takes the wheel and their attention, senses, and judgement is altered. This altering is not only caused by being severely drunk. Just a little bit of drinking, any drugs that are taken in unnecessary amounts or illegal (including smoking), being tired, or an environment that diverts a driver's attention away from the road all contribute to the death and injury to the roughly forty-thousand people who are killed yearly. Impaired driving is more than what we’re taught about in schools. Most people are only aware that being drunk can influence your driving and the lives of others, including yourself, on the road. It is vital to be aware about all kinds of impaired driving. 

      As someone who will be a new driver soon, I have always been told to watch out for the habits other people have while driving as well as to always keep my own actions sober and focused. The number one concern myself and my parents have about me taking the wheel in January of this year is that I won’t make it back home after pulling out of my driveway. Distracted driving is the most common kind of reason impaired driving accidents happen followed by being under the influence of drugs and/or alcochol. It just takes a few seconds for you to look at the texts flying into your phone and forget that you are controlling a four-thousand pound machine. Being under any kind of substance melts your ability to make safe manuvers on the roads and creates excessive fatigue that will slam your body into sleep. In the day and age where teenagers, especially my age, are always addicted to their phones and are hosting parties that involve drugs/alcohol more frequently, awareness of the risks of impaired driving are especially important for lives to be protected. 

      It’s evident that accidents are happening more frequently. Almost every time I am driven down the highway, there is at least one accident. I have been involved in an accident caused by an impaired driver before, too. As just a little kid, the force of several cars ramming into your own is an experience no one could ever lose to their memory, no matter how old you grow. This matter is very personal, and very scary to me. I cannot be the reason lives are snatched from our world or be killed by somebody else on the road. This first-hand experience has been vital in my advocacy to end impaired driving. Nobody should have their lives scared because someone else couldn’t ignore a text for five minutes or not have the thought to not drive after drinking. 

      Driver’s education should place much more of a spotlight on all kinds of impaired driving. There should be much more content available on the signs of impairment in yourself or others so nobody makes the choice to step into a vehicle if any of the signs are present. Encouragement of placing your phone on a complete “Do Not Disturb” mode needs to become a much more prevalent part of driving courses. This will easily help to limit phone distraction on the roads. Simple reminders should be handed out at driver’s education venues and placed on the dashboard of cars of all drivers. These little sentences, such as “Phone on Do Not Disturb” and “Do not turn your car on if you have had any amount of alcohol/other drugs” can help prevent an accident. These little things can be live-saving as students are introduced to more common  types of impaired driving with the realization that the students themselves perform these actions. Knowing that these habits that aren’t so little, like being on your phone while driving, can help steer students towards breaking these deadly moves. The little posters will also be effective as the reminders to set yourself up for a safe drive will always be looking drivers in the eyes every time they step into their car. Both of these plans combined will install much safer driving in new drivers from the get-go. 

      As a member of my school’s “Students Against Destructive Decisions” club and someone who promotes safe driving on my social media, there are plenty of ways for me to encourage others to combat impaired driving. Our SADD club focuses greatly on bringing awareness of drunk driving to our student body. Our club can partner with our broadcasting class to create PSAs with facts and real-life examples of the effects impaired driving, including being distracted, brings. We can also partner with our local police department to create lawn signs briefly warning to not be under the influence of any drug, let your device explode with distracting notifications, or be feeling unwell in any context while operating a car. My own social media and SADD’s page can be very helpful to give real life statistics about impaired driving and reasons why it needs to be stopped. But aside from clubs and social media, my own behavior can inspire others to not step into a vehicle. I have proven myself to be very responsible and considerate among my peers. I am a leader in many aspects of my life, including being a friend who will assist anybody in any category who needs it. By promoting that I don’t get into any vehicle with people who are under the influence, as well as reminding people to be careful and aware of their surroundings when they visit any party or a person’s house. Being a good role model can shape the way so many teenagers view impaired driving. It’s the little things people are exposed to frequently that can allow for a mother or father’s child to come back home night after night. And for that reason alone, I would absolutely say preventing impaired driving of all kinds needs to be more discussed in all aspects of life.