Impaired driving is a serious problem in the United States. Whether someone is on their phone, under the influence of alcohol, drugs, fatigue, or any other distraction, is a danger to themselves and others around them. In most research, most crashes are the result of impaired driving, as one of the main impaired driving issues is being under the influence of alcohol, which could be easily prevented with awareness and decision-making. One of my experiences of impaired driving was when I was in a car with an impaired driver when I was a child, around the age of 10, they swerved left and right, unable to stay focused on the road due to their impairment of being under the influence of alcohol, bringing a danger to me, and the other people in the car which almost resulted in a car collision with another person on the other side of the road. With the fear and terror while being in the car with the impaired driver, I was worried for my well-being and the well-being of others on the road and in the vehicle, which is one of the main reasons I want awareness of impaired driving to begin in my life. I want to raise awareness among people driving under the influence, or people overall impaired while driving, as a way to make safer choices on the road, and openly discuss the risks and consequences of being impaired while driving. Remembering the terror of being in another person's car while they were impaired not only made me worried for my safety, but also worried if being in the car with an impaired driver was going to be the last thing I did before dying. Being in a car with a friend's father who was drinking while their child was having fun with me during the summertime. I am now older with a driver's licence, having been driving for over 5 years, and I have seen the impact of impaired driving while on the roads. I witness cars piled up among freeways and intersections, some accidents worse than others, but I remember other people's fear on their faces when their families are torn apart by an impaired driver. Each crash always reminds me that the car is more than just a piece of scrap metal; it is a place to keep people safe on their travels to and from their destinations, memories that can be changed forever by a single movement, a memory that can be ruined by a split second. Those thoughts, while driving as safely as I can, motivate my dedication to raise awareness on impaired driving. My goal is to use leadership and communication skills to inspire others to make safer choices before tragedies strike. I always see people devastated by the impact of impaired driving, always imagining it is me they are crying for, where I see my mother, father, or someone else in my family seeing my body wheeled away by an ambulance, blood on the road with glass shattered from both cars and the impaired driver walking away with nothing but an empty bottle of their favorite booze in hand, all due to the cause of a bad decision by an impaired driver. These reasons are what motivate me to keep advocating for impaired driving awareness. Each of us has the power to prevent impaired driving, to never drink, smoke, or text while in the driver's seat of the vehicle. I remember when I was 16, I got a phone call from a friend's parents saying they had passed away due to an impaired driver on the road in the middle of the night. Lying in bed, I was heartbroken to know I would never see my friend again, who had been there for me through my hard times. I still miss my friend at times, knowing that an impaired driver was the cause of their death, and to remember their name only on a piece of stone. There can be so many ideas for driving safely on the roads, so people don't worry every time they get into their driver's seat. People can build better communities to ensure the safety of their families, friends, and many others within the community, so fewer people experience the loss of a loved one due to impaired driving. Prevention is more than just laws; it should be about community, personal stories, and responsibilities to encourage safer driving, a place to feel safer, relaxed, and calm through advocacy dedication. My experience as a child gives me more hope to know I am alive safely, and prepared to continue to promote awareness for impaired driving as a whole. I want to ensure that no other member of a family has to live in a future where they are afraid of impaired drivers impacting communities that prevent them from seeing a relative's beaming face, but just a tombstone in the ground with a name that holds memories.