The word “impaired” may conjure the image of someone who cannot walk well, maybe someone who uses a cane, or maybe someone who simply cannot see. The word “impair” can be defined as “weaken or damage something”, so therefore impaired driving must be to drive while weakened or when someone is not in their right mind. This can occur when the driver has taken a substance, such as alcohol or drugs, or when the driver is simply too tired to stay awake. Many will think that there is no real harm in driving this way, in fact I have heard many drunk men say they feel as if they drive better under the influence, because they do not know the greater effect they may have.
I believe the most common offense today is distracted driving. I mean we all have phones nowadays, who can blame us for looking down every so often to check on what notification just popped up right? Well the NHTSA reports a total of 3,275 lost in the year 2023 due to distracted driving. 3,275 people lost because something was more important than having their eyes on the road. Maybe someone just texted you, maybe you were looking down at the GPS, maybe your children were calling you to check in, but is this temporary glance away worth putting yourself at risk? No, and yet people still do it every time they step into their cars. It has become so normalized the average person may not think anything of it. 
Another form of impaired driving that claims a lot of lives is drunk driving. The NHTSA reported a total of 12,429 deaths due to drunk driving. These deaths could have been avoided by getting someone else to drive, by avoiding a drink, by calling an uber. The issue I have personally seen when it comes to drunk driving is that the people genuinely think they are 100% aware of their surroundings even though their speech is slurred and they can barely put one foot in front of the other. I remember one instance in which my dad and his friends were trying to make a barbecue but they were a little tipsy, safe to say my mother was watching them like a hawk after they managed to spill their drinks while claiming they were doing perfectly fine. Now imagine if this scene had occurred in a 2.16 ton vehicle as they are trying to get home. It doesn't exactly read as safe.
So what  can be done? The media has done a good number of providing us the statistics of what impaired driving can cause, the problem is when we place a number to an issue it is difficult to think of the effect this has on the world around them. We can read the number 12,429 as nothing more than a number, it takes time to think about it in order to realize that these are 12,429 people who might have been mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, wives and husbands. We will not feel the impact unless we have lost someone to this issue. If we can make the statistics more than just numbers people will be more aware of the danger they may pose if they are driving impaired.
Driving courses use this in order to help change attitudes about impaired driving. Not only will you be warned about impaired driving you will be taught what to do in these situations to avoid danger. Not only are you given a statistic, but you are given a name, a face, a family in pain because of the loss they suffered. This is what makes these programs effective in real-world situations. My dad always told me he was never tempted to drive while drunk because he saw an accident caused by drunk driving occur on his way to work. The sight of it was absolutely ghastly, and it later showed on the afternoon news segment. Driving courses will do the same thing, they demonstrate the harsh reality that a minor decision can have. 
Due to my knowledge of the dangers of impaired driving I can do everything in order to make sure I do not impose a threat to those around me. For example, I know looking down at my phone while driving can put me at risk of an accident, I know driving while fatigued is dangerous because I can fall asleep at the wheel. Because I know this information I can share it with those around me, I can make sure they stay safe as well, and I can ensure they share the message as well.