I have a big imagination. I get distracted easily by daydreaming and have always channeled that constant flow of thought into my art and musical theater performances, but I have realized recently that when I get behind the wheel and connect my Bluetooth, I am creating a possible disaster. While driving to a class about an hour away, I was listening to the Hadestown soundtrack and imagining being in a production of the show, seeing myself in every role. What I wasn’t seeing was that I was completely zoned out and slowly creeping towards the yellow line. The car’s sensors saw that I was out of my lane and beeped at me, bringing me out of my head and into the real world where I swerved back into my lane and away from an oncoming car. Impaired driving can mean a lot of things; being under the influence, checking your phone, and even being distracted by your music. I think that a lot of the time people will hear ‘impaired driving’ and think of being under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or looking at their cell phone or friend in the passenger seat, but for someone like me who is easily distracted by certain music and prone to zone out, it can simply be the radio turned up too loud and thoughts wandering that can lead to an accident or crash. 

This little scare on the road has led me to turn down my music while I drive and choose a playlist that won’t make me sink too deep into my thoughts; classical music or songs that I’ve heard numerous times before can help me focus with their familiarity and easiness to listen to without thinking or taking my concentration off the road. This experience left me crying and quite shaken, and my mom who had been in the passenger seat had me pull over to be able to regain my composure to be able to drive  a little further to help recover my confidence and not let my newfound fear sink in too deep. I was left almost a little scared of my own brain and its easy distractibility, and fully convinced of the real threat of driving distractedly or impaired. I believe that it is incredibly important for people who have real experiences to share them to be able to get through to new and also experienced drivers alike.

Drivers education can seem boring and monotonous at times with its many videos about railroad crossings and different signs you might see on the road, but the section on impaired driving has stuck with me for the many months since I took the AAA drivers education course online. I believe that one of the best ways to get someone to believe you and understand the serosity of something is to share real experiences that you or people you know have had. I have found that just being told not to do something specific doesn’t stick very long at the front of my brain, but when listening to my friend tell me about how he had gone off the road when he was driving too fast on a tight turn with icy slush on the road, I have always taken that specific sharp turn and other similar turns much slower than I previously had.

By sharing with peers–especially new and young drivers–my own experience of being distracted by loud music while driving, I hope to spread awareness to people my age who can be extremely susceptible to getting used to and confident to do certain things–turning up their music or being on their phones–while driving, and therefore find it harder to break those habits. 

When having a conversation with adults, it seems that they mostly associate cell phones and technology with the younger generations, however it is most often adults that I hear about being on their phones while driving. I have heard from multiple friends how comfortable their parents have gotten with being on their phones when driving, and have even experienced it in person a couple times. Being in a situation where someone more in control than you is impaired can be quite scary and uncomfortable, especially if you find it hard to speak up for yourself to a friend’s parent, but it is unacceptable to put someone else in danger just because you want to check your messages or watch your show while behind the wheel. The creation of phone mounts for your car dashboard has made a new level of comfort for people to be distracted by their phones while driving, letting drivers think ‘if it's something that everyone is using, it must be safe’ but having something on your dashboard that doesn’t have to do with your driving should not be allowed to people who are behind the wheel. Putting your phone on silent and in the back seat where you cannot reach it is a good way to force yourself to not be compelled to look at your phone.  Sharing about yours and others experiences with impaired driving as well as participating in safe driving practices can help shape the new and old drivers alike into creating safer roads for all.