To me impaired driving means having roadblocks to driving as a result of a chosen inflicted physical or mental condition. Being an impaired driver means you have made a choice to drive when you know conditions aren’t great. I think there is a big misnomer about what it means to be impaired, even to those who have completed a driver’s education program. People are quick to think that driving impaired means drugs and alcohol are involved, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are silent impairments that people aren’t discussing because they don’t think it's real. The truth is our mobile devices and exhaustion are increasing accidents at an alarming rate. 

The most common types of impairment in today’s world is texting and fatigue. While drugs and alcohol will always be big factors of impairment, texting and fatigue are “acceptable” in society and not seen with a negative connotation. The fact is texting and major fatigue are just as bad as drugs and alcohol when it comes to being impaired. Fatigue is the equivalent of being intoxicated or falling asleep behind the wheel. Today’s society expects so much of people that they run on fumes trying to complete multiple things in a day and skimp on sleep to get everything on their to-do list accomplished. In the same arena is texting while driving. It has been ingrained that you must reply instantly to any notification,  when in reality it’s just like the slogan says, “The Text Can Wait”. People are constantly texting while driving not making use of their hands free systems because they feel not only is that it’s acceptable, but they are immune from its consequences. People’s perception of fatigue and texting while driving continues to contribute to daily unsafe driving behavior.

A story that has been etched in my brain is that of my classmate and friend Jocelyn. Jocelyn decided to answer a “quick” Snapchat and almost lost her and her brother’s life that afternoon. As she was driving into the intersection and looking down momentarily at her phone to respond “k”, she pulled out in front of a car when it wasn’t her right of way and it smashed into her car. Thankfully, angels were watching over her and her brother that day. They both came out unscathed while her car was so damaged it was totaled out. Any time I hear the chime of my phone in my console I think of Jocelyn and how lucky she was that day that she wasn’t responsible for her brother’s death or her own. It keeps the urge of picking up my phone to respond out of the question. Instead I keep my phone shut in the center console to not be a distraction when driving. I am thankful that she has been brave and shared her story to help prevent others from making similar choices.

As a graduate of driver’s education I believe their curriculum helps change attitudes surrounding impaired driving in a meaningful way. To take it a step further, and to make an even bigger impact, I think it would be great if each program could get multiple VR Headsets with programmed simulations for students to experience. Spanning from being tired and fatigued and how you see or can’t react, to looking down at a text only to look up and be in an instant crash. I think the physical and emotional experience through such technology could really impact future drivers. This technology is the closest you could experience aside from being in a real life accident. Making that resource available could be a huge game changer in the drivers. In addition to the already incredible program, it would help not only those who took the course, but those they speak to that they spread that awareness to. Word of mouth is one of the strongest forms of influence.

Day in and day out I will personally lead by example of driving correctly and not impaired. Never going behind the wheel when I feel tired and keeping my phone safely secured in my console and on silent. I can keep telling Jocelyn’s story and spreading awareness to others. When I get in a vehicle with others I will let them know that it’s non-negotiable for me to drive without impairments. Making these everyday choices to hold one another accountable we can all be the change that needs to happen to reduce car accidents and ultimately deaths.  We have a choice every time we get behind the wheel, let’s make it the right one - free of impairment.