11/28/25
I made a driving mistake recently that scared me, and helped me realize how easily crashes can occur when driving distracted. I was driving through an intersection, and a car turned left just in front of me. I wondered how they were so daring as to turn right in front of me, but then I glanced up and saw I had gone through a red light. I honestly don’t know how it happened; maybe the cars in front of me had gone through a yellow. What I do know is that I had been deep in thought at the time, and it obviously kept me from paying attention to the traffic signal.
This incident made me aware that I need to be more attentive while driving. A distraction such as deep thought could allow me to cause a car crash. If this can happen, more serious impairments make an accident even more likely.
An impairment is anything that keeps you from employing all your faculties while driving. Alcohol and drug use, cell phone use, and fatigue are typical impairments. However, even a crying baby or an argumentative passenger can be impairments.
Drugs and alcohol seriously impair driving ability because they affect mental capabilities. Effects include slowed reaction time, diminished ability to judge time and distance, impaired cognitive function, drowsiness, and decreased coordination. My Facebook reels are full of police body cam footage of traffic stops of drivers that seem to be impaired by alcohol.
Impairment is also caused by use of electronic devices. Using an electronic device necessitates moving eyes off the road to the device. Every time I’m on the road I see a driver holding their phone in front of them while driving. Recently I was a passenger in a vehicle, and the driver had a cell phone mounted in their eye range. A sporting event was playing on the cellphone. The driver explained that their car had features that keep the car in the lane, and stop if the vehicle in front stops. I was skeptical. I believe these features work, but I’m skeptical that we were truly safe. Features like these should be safety features, not permission to use electronic devices more freely.
I know a young man who is an exceptionally careful driver. I have heard him criticize his father for frequently texting while driving. I’m impressed that the example has caused him to drive more carefully, rather than following the bad example. It is a fact that using a cellphone while driving is dangerous; unfortunately many drivers disregard this fact and carelessly endanger their own and others’ lives.
I don’t know how often regular commuters drive while fatigued, but I know it’s a huge problem among commercial truck drivers. My husband was a truck driver, and he often would have to pull over and take a power nap when he was having trouble staying awake. There are regulations in place that limit the number of hours truckers can drive in a day, and mandate breaks throughout the day. Once I was behind a truck on the freeway that I observed weaving in its lane. When I passed the truck, I looked in the cab, and I would swear that the driver’s eyes were closed. I still regret that I didn’t call 911 and report the truck.
New drivers have to pass a driving test to receive a driving license. It should be a requirement that when drivers break traffic laws that endanger lives, they must attend additional training and pass a test of the material. A test would ensure that they actually learn the material, thereby increasing the possibility of their practicing safer driving skills. It would also increase awareness of new traffic laws, such as Arizona’s “Move Over” law that requires drivers to move over or slow down when passing vehicles with flashing lights on the side of the road.
No one likes taking tests; initially, the threat might not deter impaired driving, but with increasingly harsher penalties, most will either learn, or be taken off the streets with suspended licenses or incarceration.
What about the kind of impairment that is usually not selfish or chronic, such as fatigue? Just one incident of driving while tired could result in a wreck. Perhaps regular, short training events could remind drivers of dangerous driving habits that can easily be avoided. Similar to registering your vehicle every year or two, drivers could be required to watch a short video at the same time, and answer questions about the content. The drivers could be reminded to avoid dangerous driving habits, and be educated about the consequences of impaired driving, along with any new motor laws. Videos could be created to be both informative and entertaining.
Automobile innovation is moving toward self-driving cars. However, that is the future; today, it is necessary to remind drivers that impairments endanger lives. DUI arrests are close to a million a year, and alcohol-related driving fatalities over 12,000; these represent a fraction of the effects of impaired driving. Accidents caused by impaired driving are costly and can be fatal. Punishment of impaired drivers could prevent future accidents, but it would be better to prevent accidents altogether with education.