In my opinion, impaired driving is when an individual decides to drive a vehicle without giving it their full attention. While it is caused by many things, most people think of the obvious factors such as alcohol or drugs. However, these are uncommon among most new drivers. These factors negatively affect your whole body. Impaired driving factors do not need to have a physical impact on you; if it distracts the driver at all, it puts their life at risk. That is why impaired driving is more likely to be caused by fatigue or phone usage. Drivers often think it is okay to drive while even a little drowsy, but the reality is that it threatens their lives just as much as alcohol does. In this modern era, almost everyone uses a mobile phone.

Regardless of the reason, you can always pull over to the side of the road for emergencies. The only thing you get from using your phone mid-drive is to see something that could have waited, or to distract yourself. The distraction is usually texting. Even if only for a brief moment, that is all it takes for you to run a red light into traffic or miss a car heading toward you. Thankfully, nothing bad has happened to my family or I while we have traveled on the road. I am well aware and have been well-informed on how dangerous it is to drive while on my phone, tired, or distracted. As a new provisional license holder, I find myself having more driving-related conversations with my family and friends. This is how I learned something rather shocking: speeding by a couple of miles an hour has been normalized.

Anyone that has taken driver’s education should know the exact speed limit laws, yet breaking them is just fine with everyone. Some drivers use the excuse of following the flow of traffic, but if everyone decided to collectively slow to the speed limit, then there wouldn’t be a problem. I have been shamed for staying in the right lane and following the speed limit or slightly under at times. I don’t understand what is wrong with that, or why society has made it a problem. I find myself being honked at by cars in a rush when there’s a whole other passing lane. On one-lane roads, drivers that tailgate in an attempt to move faster just have to suck it up, like “Sorry for obeying the law.” No matter how many times my friends bother me about it, I will not change how I drive. I do my best to follow safe driving protocols and I do my part to share safe driving practices and hopefully make a difference in my community. Maybe one day, a driver speeding behind or next to me will realize that it’s still breaking the law.

The driver’s education course I took did a great job of ensuring my peers and I would not be influenced to do something we would later regret. However, apparently, it tends to go in one ear and out the other for some. The course I took used various methods to drive home the point that taking your attention off the road for any reason is dangerous; the most notable was “scare tactics”. We were shown various videos of drivers who made one mistake and it cost either their or a loved one’s life. On the other hand, they also show us how someone else’s mistake may only impact you. The videos were all in a very sad tone. Now, I definitely would never pick my phone over anyone’s life. The videos were very effective and “scaring” students such as myself away from any form of impaired driving.

Even before taking any driving courses, I knew the devastating impact of impaired driving, even if I did not fully understand it. From a young age, I was constantly made aware of the dangers that could and do happen on the road every day. That is why, no matter what others (mostly my friends) say, I will always follow the law on the road. Who knows, maybe one day, they will change their driving habits for the better. Safe driving also includes being aware of your surroundings because another driver’s mistake can also cost you your life. So, knowing how to safely avoid and deter yourself from another collision, defensive driving, is something that driving courses should incorporate more.

To resolve drinking and driving, I believe having breathalyzers readily available so that your blood-alcohol levels can be checked before starting a vehicle. Also, ensuring there’s always a designated driver present whenever there’s even a chance of alcohol being present wherever you are going. No matter what, I want to make sure I set a good example for my peers and future generations. My sister is 9 and I can only hope to set the standard of driving for when she becomes old enough to get her permit and license. In doing so, I can make sure people do not have more reasons to give Maryland drivers a bad reputation.