To cause an accident on the road, it’s not about being drunk, it’s about being indifferent and refusing to treat your vehicle as a weapon. This may seem harsh, but the truth is that cars, no matter how fast they are going, are large enough to cause serious injuries or death. People who are impaired aren’t on medications or drinking lots of alcohol, most of them are hubristic drivers who feel they know everything. This is the common problem for people who got their license or went through hours of driving school. Many young teenagers and adults will argue that they are safe drivers. They say that they don’t do drugs or drink alcohol and that they will always pay attention to the road. But what they forget is how overconfidence is the problem that leads to impairment. Being overconfident can lead to a moment of euphoria where you lack the ability to make quick, necessary judgements. This is dangerous for people who are behind the wheel.

            If you’re overconfident, you will forget that there’s a pedestrian, car, motorcyclists, or other obstacles in front of you. This can lead to serious damage that can cost lots of money and your license being taken away. I understand that most media will focus on the dangerous factors, but there have been harsh penalties to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. At the same time, the laws against texting while driving have even reduced the number of times people text on their phones. The idea of alcohol, drugs, or texting causing massive fatalities on the road due to impairment isn’t a heavy priority. Instead, it’s important to look at overconfidence and fatigue. Now I will focus mainly on how overconfidence is a problem, but fatigue is important as well. Most people feel that impairment by fatigue is caused by medication that sedates, but that’s far from the truth. The reason why people are fatigued is the work schedule that we have put in place.

            The problem is that many people suffer impairment by fatigue because their work forces them to work beyond overtime without pay. But even with pay, people who work more than 40 hours suffer health problems. If people are more likely to be injured by overworking, then their chances of causing an accident by fatigue skyrockets as well. Anyone who works more than 40 or struggles to handle 40-hour stress will be impaired behind the wheel. This is a serious problem for people who are behind the wheel. If you’re tired from overworking, then you will fall asleep at the wheel and hit someone. However, the problem is that more people don’t care because overtime work is normalized. This is why there has been an increase in accidents on the road due to fatigue. Most courthouses and DMVs argue that it’s the driver’s fault, but what they forget is how our working conditions aggravate it. This isn’t something that people can choose to ignore, instead everyone is forced to drive even when fatigued.

            One of the reasons why I’m aware of how dangerous it is to drive behind the wheel due to impairment is what I got taught in school. In my criminal justice class, we watched a 60-minutes clip on drunk driving. They told the story of how Katie Flynn, a flower girl, who mentioned how wonderful her life is. She and her family were happy and ready for more things in life. However, when they were in their limousine, a drunk driver named Martin Heidgen crashed into them. Heidgen’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was three times the legal limit and he killed both Katie Flynn and the limousine driver. This was a very serious case in many ways, because the district attorney pushed for second degree murder. The reason was that drunk driving incidents haven’t been decreasing even though lots of drunk drivers have been caught. The district attorney argued that this is because they were leniently being charged with manslaughter. Martin got sentenced to 25 years in prison because of the crime.

            Even though this is related to drunk driving, I realized that this could happen from any form of impaired driving. People argue that drunk driving is the real problem, but that ignores the subtle forms of impaired driving. I feel that if we look at the most dramatic case of drunk driving, then we ignore the cases that matter. Ever since that video, I have made it my mission to raise awareness on overconfidence. I have always felt it in my heart to educate people on how overconfidence can cause the exact same problem. Overconfidence isn’t just bad because of how euphoria prevents you from seeing the road, it encourages drivers to speed. Studies have shown how speeding can lead to more fatalities and increase the chances of dying. Now it matters that we educate people on how overconfidence can cause speeding and lack of awareness. Even though I am making good choices and have decided to not speed and take deep breaths, but that alone isn’t enough.

I feel that this is why we need a big revamp in driver’s education. Instead of focusing on alcohol, drugs, or texting, it’s time to dedicate a huge percentage of driving ed to overconfidence and fatigue. The most important thing is to train people to calm down and reduce the number of hours they work. We can’t always look at the very negatives. Instead, to make driving safe, schools should focus on calming down. They should teach don’t be invincible and think you can see all danger. They should teach people to take deep breaths and focus on the road. There should be research into other techniques that can teach young drivers to be less euphoric and down to reality. At the same time, they should teach people the importance of working less. Fatigue isn’t always caused by meds, instead driving schools need to emphasize how overwork can lead to impairment. But in the meantime, it’s important that driving schools teach students how to manage driving behind the wheel while they are tired.

Because impairment caused by fatigue isn’t unique to adult drivers, many high schoolers suffer this as well. The problem is that high school days start too early and teenagers don’t get enough sleep. I do agree that teaching people not to drive behind a wheel is ideal, but teens need to go to school. Some of them don’t have access to a bus and need a car to get there. This  is why techniques on driving while tired helps, but a push for later start time is more important. However, the benefits from this new type of driver’s ed are good. For many people who are overconfident, they will less likely want to speed. Instead, when they are on the ride, they will drive slowly and make sure that they are paying attention. They will remember to scan the streets to watch for everyone. By being less confident, these drivers will see motorcyclists and cyclists whether in front of them, rearview mirror, side mirrors, or directions they turn their head. This will be great for reducing driving accidents and fatalities. But for fatigued drivers, they will learn to drive better when they are tired. Ideally, it’s not recommended to drive while tired, but these people will learn how to pay attention to the road. 

Another way impairment by fatigue is reduced is that these drivers will want to work less or find better hours. Many of these drivers will refrain from sleeping pills and try to find ways to match their circadian rhythm. These methods address both fatigue and overconfident drivers. But I care about how I drive that will make an impact. Even though I’m not a politician, I have been a positive influence on young drivers. I always wake up and make sure that I’m alert before I drive my car. Instead of being impulsive and thinking that I know how to steer the wheel, I will take deep breaths and be calmer. Another thing I do is not take my meds before I go behind the wheel. But doing this on your own and showcasing good driving isn’t enough for me. Instead, it matters that I go to the state house and alert our representative on how we can fight impaired driving. Some things aren’t just a matter of the drivers’ fault; it’s a matter of systemic changes in our society.

I believe it’s important that we push for a later school start time to reduce accidents among young drivers. Also, we should reward people to work less so that they can drive safely. But for me, I can teach the younger generation how to be better drivers, not by going into drivers’ ed, it’s by teaching and telling them the safe way to drive. I’m not using scary or fear tactics, but I will teach them the importance of taking things one step at a time. I will tell them, “Look, you can’t feel that you’re invincible. It’s important that you take a deep breath and calm down.” I will teach that overconfidence is more dangerous than drunk driving because of how unaware you are. Another thing that I will teach is the importance of getting enough sleep for the next day. I will discourage sleeping pills and tell young drivers that fatigue can be just as bad. Even if I’m no involved in drivers’ ed, but there are other avenues for me to fight against impaired driving.