My dad and I were spending quality time, driving home on our way back from breakfast. We were a mile away from home, and we stopped at a red light for less than a minute. Out of nowhere–BOOM!  No warning, no screeching of brakes, no bracing for impact. Just like that, we had been in a collision. As we got out of our car to survey the damage and call the police, the driver who crashed into us opened her car door and ran over to us. She was apologetic…she was distraught…she was distracted.  The driver had been on her phone texting, and she didn’t realize that the light before her had, in fact, turned red. By the time she realized we were in front of her, it was too late to stop. While we were able to walk away from the accident, we needed weeks of physical therapy from the back strain and whiplash. I still think about the accident and how much worse it could have been. What if my twin brothers had been in the back seat?  What if we were pushed into oncoming traffic?

Sadly, my experience is just one of many. Driving is a privilege that many people take for granted. It requires skill, patience, and most importantly, one’s full attention. Impaired driving is the cause of many accidents and injuries that occur on roadways across the nation. According to cdc.gov, impaired driving occurs “when someone operates a vehicle while impaired by substances such as marijuna, illicit drugs, prescription drugs, and/or alcohol." According to the California Traffic Safety Institute, distracted driving is defined as activity that diverts attention from the task of driving, including visual, cognitive, and manual distractions. Both impaired driving and distracted driving go hand in hand. Anything that takes your eyes, mind, and hands off the road can increase your chances of causing an accident threefold. This includes alcohol, drugs, texting, looking at directions on your phone, grooming, eating, changing radio stations, and reading; unfortunately, the possibilities of impaired or distracted driving are endless. Even “hands free” devices like bluetooth can still impact a person’s ability to drive safely. To keep drivers and passengers safe, we must do more to increase awareness about the dangers of driving while impaired and distracted.

The most important remedy to the impaired/distracted driver epidemic begins with new driver training. As the saying goes, “when you know better, you do better.” Driver education classes and traffic safety courses must teach students that while driving, there is no such thing as multi-tasking. Students must understand the breadth of impaired and distracted driving and recognize how their own habits impact the lives of others. This can be done by first having students take a questionnaire, getting them to analyze their own at-risk behaviors. It is imperative that we encourage student drivers to take responsibility and accountability for their driving habits. It is also important to clear up any misconceptions new drivers have about what actions are acceptable when they are behind the wheel. Next, providing concrete examples of the effects of impaired/distracting is crucial to understanding the importance of driver safety. Hearing in person testimonials or watching videos of real drivers and victims help provide new drivers with a reality check of how their behavior on the road impacts others. 

Finally, people learn driving best by doing. Teenage drivers should also be taught safe driving habits to adopt while they complete their behind the wheel hours. Instructors must model healthy driving habits for students, encouraging teen drivers to set up before they drive i.e. adjusting the radio, gathering directions, etc. before heading for the road. Teaching students to place cellular phones in the back seat, using apps to lock their cellular phones while driving, and showing students how to pull over to a safe spot to check directions are all great habits teens can use to curb distracted driving. Teaching students how to drive safely and defensively is crucial to everyone’s well-being.

As I think back to that summer day, I am grateful that we were able to walk away from the accident. It reminds me of the importance of staying focused while driving because our peoples’ lives depend on it.  We all play a part in keeping our roadways safe.  From driving education programs and safe driving courses to taking a look in the mirror at our own driving tendencies, we must all work together to spread awareness about impaired and distracted driving.