Impaired driving is a very complicated phenomenon, spurring from many different issues, whether it be cultural or by the discretion of one individual. Impaired driving is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents, as when many are drunk, distracted, or simply tired, they lose some of their decision-making abilities, leading to many accidents, injuries, or even fatalities. 

I think of impaired driving like any other activity; if there is anything that is limiting the brain function during the activity, then one would be impaired. With impaired driving, I believe this could involve basic fatigue, any type of drugs, or distractions like music or texting. Due to many of these activities being common (like being tired from work), many do not see some of these scenarios as driving impaired, as many just associate it with drunk driving. Some of the fault could be due to the way we are educated in driving school, where they heavily focus on drunk driving as a form of impairment, as opposed to fatigue. The rest of the fault lies in public perception, as people get more skilled at driving, they think that if something is easy for them, then it does not count as impairment. For example, I know some people who are very skilled at texting while driving, so they would likely not count it as impairment, but any form of multitasking that restricts the process of driving can count as impairment, despite how easy or comfortable the process is. 

In today’s drivers, some of the most popular forms of impairment are fatigue and exhaustion, texting, and other common distractions. For many years, people have been impaired in their daily lives through exhaustion, whether it be from work or any other daily activities. Due to the work culture of the world, many people think nothing of it and are used to it, despite the fact that exhaustion puts a strain on many other activities in their lives. In my personal experience, I have always seen my parents be tired, while this does not cause them to make strange decisions, it does cause them to drive a little more recklessly (being more impatient). The issue of cellular distractions is also a leading issue, whether it involves texting or scrolling. Whenever people use social media, you can see many activities that people post in their daily lives, with some of these activities being seen in the car. While many people are just sitting in the car, you may come across some people driving, and other times doing reckless things while driving. I have seen some people do makeup while driving, talk on a chat while driving, even put on a sweater while driving, many things that not only get in the way of steering, but can also make the driver more vulnerable to changes in traffic. With a vulnerable driver and the impatience of many other drivers, an accident is almost guaranteed to happen.

What taught me about the dangers of impaired driving was a situation that I myself caused. I almost got myself into a traffic accident while practicing, which I would chalk up to exhaustion. I remember being very tired before entering the car, and honestly, I believe my perception was thrown off, as I was making more rash decisions than I was before. I ultimately turned when I shouldn’t have, but thankfully, the person guiding me was there to stop the situation from happening. From that time, I wondered if what happened was due to exhaustion or my own decision-making, but I believe the out-of-character move was made due to my wanting to get to school so I could stop driving. Since this incident, I have always made sure I was not tired before getting in the car, and if I was, I have made sure that I would wait until complete clarity to turn. I believe this experience made me a more patient driver, as well as a safer driver.

On the topic of impaired driving, many traffic schools will teach you what it looks like and how to veer away from it, but they usually do a great job at teaching you how it feels when you practice impaired driving. The driving school I went to did a great job at changing how younger individuals would view impaired driving because every time we were done with the basic lesson, we would always see the skits or real videos dealing with impaired driving, with some videos covering very heavy incidents. One of the videos displayed a gruesome accident, where many children were enjoying themselves in a car together, but due to them paying too little attention, the car reached an uncontrollable state and toppled so many times that many of the girls who were in the car were injured, with some dying. Videos like this do a very good job at keeping people attentive, as it shows us how easy it is to be injured by such a small mistake. If there is any way in which teaching this could be improved, I would say that more driver's schools should display these videos and real-life actions so that more people can understand the cost of their actions.

To personally contribute to this issue, I could tell more people about my experiences or find others with experience in this field. The same thing I proposed the driving schools to do could also apply to my own teaching, showing people the consequences that arise from reckless actions. With people listening to music, hanging out with friends, and the high school experiences of many, it is very important that the people around me get taught about what could happen. Many people my age know what they should or should not do on the road, but some of my underclassmen do not know that, and I could teach them through the same method that I learned.