When I was in high school, I had this friend let's name him "Danny" who would light up every room he walked into, he made everyone laugh. Danny was the kind of guy that always looked to the positive side of things, when things were frustrating or difficult. That had all changed when impaired driving had taken him from his family and friends. 
What is impaired driving you may ask? Well, that is when your ability in driving is affected by drugs, alcohol, prescription medications, texting, fatigue and more. Some of these impairments are obvious while others can be silent killers. We had just graduated from high school it was summer; it was perfect a perfect august day. The sun was out, the sky so blue and the birds were chirping, music playing. Like many teenagers in the summer before college, Danny often hung out with his friends and worked to earn some extra money before school starts. Until a couple days before college had begun, there had been some news that Danny was involved in a crash at night with his mother. Danny and his mother were rushed to the hospital via ambulance and then air lifted to a different hospital. Danny's mother had serious trauma to her head, the crash had been horrific. There wasn't an update on Danny yet, but he had been the one driving. Now with impaired driving people often think it is just limited to "Drunk Driving" but it's not, it's anything that can affect your state of mind or focus while on the road. Even people who have often completed driver's ed or traffic school can drive impaired. People believe they can multitask efficiently enough where it doesn't affect their driving. But there are so many different ways to be impaired while driving, whether that is texting, talking on the phone but not paying attention to the road, fixing something on your screen in the car that you don't realize you went through a stop sign or intersection. Smoking and driving, drinking and driving, being so tired that you don't realize how you got home. These tend to be the most common impairments, these are all unsafe situations that often are the cause of thousands of accidents every year, taking away lives of others or even themselves. People tend to think the longer they have driven that more superior they are when it comes to driving. But with driving it only takes one mistake to cause an accident, and that is what happened that night to Danny.

It was a late night after work, Danny had been doing overnights as security at a factory in the city. At the time, Danny had just gotten his driving permit but was on the probation period where you had to have an adult with you when driving. His mom had picked him up from his overnight and had him drive them home due to her being tired. Well Danny was also very tired but wanted to drive as it would be good practice for the future. During the 25-minute drive home, Danny must have dozed off as the next thing they knew the car was flying off the road and down a hill on to field below them. A person driving pass sometime after had stopped and called 911 and help was on the way. In the end this accident had costed Danny his life, his mother had been able to pull through and is forever impacted. This story is to bring awareness to impaired driving and fatigue as this something that people often overlook as one of the causes of accidents. But as someone who knows the healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, and many other occupations this is a serious matter that many know the feeling of driving while being exhausted. I personally tell my friends and families about Danny because it is a strong story that he taught all of us in my town. He was taken too soon, and this can be preventable. More emphasis on driving while fatigued should be talked about more in driving courses and traffic school, calling a friend/family member on the way home to help you, asking them to come drive you, calling an uber or taxi if you are too tired. Talking to your boss or coworker, finding another alternative so that driving while fatigued can be avoided. Telling the younger generation about Danny's story so that one they don't forget and two when they can drive, they know the seriousness of impaired driving. What you do today, can determine your tomorrow.