When I was 15 I was very excited for my driver’s license. I was becoming very close to taking my permit test and starting to drive, and it felt like a huge step toward growing up. My mom always told my older sisters to drive safely all the time. I knew it was important to be a safe driver on the road, but I saw my own parents didn’t take that very seriously. My dad was notorious for driving fast; even though he was a police officer himself, he was always speeding anywhere he went. My mom on the other hand was a pretty slow driver but constantly on her phone. Whether that be on a phone call or answering her last text, it seemed like she always had a reason to glance away from the road. This was not a very good example for me and I was aware of that. Although my parents had these bad traits, one thing they never did was drive while under the influence. They always wanted my older sisters to never get in a car with someone that had been drinking, and to never drive after they drank. My parents would always tell them and me that if we ever made the bad decision to drink when we weren’t supposed to but still needed a ride, to call them because they would rather be disappointed but at least have us safe at home.

I never thought to ask my mom the question of why she always told us these things about driving impaired; I always thought it was because everyone said not to do that. One night, when I was put in the position of a friend driving me and my sister home while impaired, I was very scared for my life and my sister’s as well as others on the road. I ended up telling my parents when I got home because I was very scared and didn’t want to get in trouble or be put in that situation again. I never ended up hanging out with that friend again because of how scared I was and also how upset my parents got at me and that friend for putting us in that situation. And that night, my mom told me a story that ended up changing my whole perspective on impaired driving.

When I had told my mom what I had done, she got very upset and started to cry. I didn’t understand at first, but after she had calmed down, she told me a story about her friend that took place in high school. One of my mom’s closest friends went to an after-prom party and she was the only one out of her friends that didn’t drink at all so she could drive everyone home that night. After hours of fun, when it was time to leave, they started to head home. And while on the road, another car hit them. She lost control and they fell into a ditch. The other people in the car who had been drinking began to look around and tried to get out. But when they looked over to get their friend, they saw that the driver was decapitated; their friend’s head was gone. The other car that hit them and caused the accident had been completely fine, but when they got out of the car, they realized that the driver was impaired. So even though their friend had done everything she was supposed to, she still lost her life to an impaired driver.

This story totally changed my perspective on driving and made me advocate more for not driving impaired. More than half of the time, it is the non-impaired driver who ends up losing their life even though they have been driving safely and doing all the right things. It helped shape my awareness behind the wheel by always being aware of my surroundings at all times. I constantly check how other cars are acting and driving on the road. It also influenced me to not drive how my parents' drive. I am never on my phone because I never know what is going on in another person's car. I also never speed because going the speed limit gives me more time to be able to react to other cars on the road and keeps me in control during unexpected situations. I think it is very important more people are aware of this and how selfish it would be to drive while impaired. Because you are not only putting yourself in danger but putting other innocent people's lives in danger.