I remember my mom telling me that, before I was born, she struggled to drive about 40 minutes to go to work. She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and would talk about how hard it was to drive when she was really tired. She said that while driving she kept struggling to stay awake. So tired that she said it was a painful feeling of not being able to just go to sleep. She prayed that she wouldn't get into a car accident, hoping that no one would get hurt. It scared her knowing that she was out on the road like this everyday just trying to go to do her job. The way it was explained to me was the simulation they show on how it looks when someone keeps looking down at their phone. She barely saw the road and really didn't understand how she even made it to work somedays. By the end of the year she had to quit her job and stop working altogether.

This left a huge impression on me because the thought of being on the road like that, whether it being extremely tired, alcohol, texting or on drugs. My mom would talk about it a lot, stressing the importance of not driving while tired. We have also had a lot of conversations on the reasons as to not driving while drinking or on the phone. In drivers ed classrooms we watch videos on taking your eyes off the road while driving. The thought and vision of what could happen if  you take your eyes off at the wrong time. Too many accidents occur. My mom told me stories about my grandpa back when she was young. As she got older, she became more aware that her dad was a functioning alcoholic. Which meant he would drink and drive. She remembers times when she was sitting in the back seat scared because my grandparents would be fighting in the front. My grandma would say that she could drive home and he would argue that he drove better drunk. She can’t remember the amount of times they went to parties or drove home like that. 

Another situation she remembered, was when she had to go with her mom and a neighbor to go pick my grandpa up at the police station. He got pulled over for drinking and driving. So many things were different back then though. My mom stressed these stories to show how dangerous being impaired can be, even when you don’t think you are impaired. One year, my mom lost her cousin. He was a known alcoholic and was only 24. He went to a party within walking distance, then left and got in his car. He had gotten into an accident shortly after. It devastated my mom and my grandparents, especially my grandpa. It changed so many things in their lives when it came to anything close to these situations. He had been near a scene where a kid got hit. He saw me come home and he was frantic. I found out that he thought it was me at first. His nephew dying changed his awareness of driving as well. 

It’s a scary world and we put ourselves in the way of danger every time we get into a car. Whether with ourselves or someone else. You need to worry about the safety of everyone in your car as well as what is going on around you. You have no idea if someone is driving under the influence that could hurt others. It is a terrifying thought when you truly  think about it. The one thing my parents have stressed through the years is if something ever happens to call them. If I am driving and decide to have a drink, I can call them any time and they will come pick me up.

 

I was told these stories to stress how dangerous it is. Impairment, regardless of how, can take lives, it makes you see things differently. I don’t plan on ever doing these things and I am happy to be aware of the situations that can occur, while being impaired.These examples are what has made me more aware of being on the road. They have influenced what choices I make while driving. I know I always have to be aware of what is going on around me at all times. We have to make last minute choices while driving and I don’t want to be impaired while being on the road.