Everyone hears about impaired driving, whether it is during their driver's training, posters raising awareness, or news reports about accidents. Many understand what impaired driving is, but often associate it with the use of alcohol or drugs impairing someone's ability to drive. While these are big issues that can result in impaired driving, many other factors can cause it. Often misunderstood, impaired driving can lead to unsafe behaviors that take focus away from the road, and through my own experiences and driver's training, I now understand the importance of reducing impaired driving, causing me to make better choices, influencing others to do the same. 
To me, impaired driving is any action or behavior that keeps you from putting your entire focus on driving. I believe that impaired driving is commonly misunderstood, even after driving instruction, because when people usually hear or think about impaired driving, they think about the use of alcohol, drugs, or even texting while driving. Since these are the most common, many people don’t realize that they aren’t the only ways their driving can be impaired. For example, many don't realize that talking to a passenger can be considered impaired driving if it takes focus away from the road. I think that the most prevalent type of driving impairment in today's society is texting or using a phone while driving. Using a phone while driving takes your attention away from the road, which can result in accidents. Hundreds of thousands of people have gotten into accidents, been injured, and died as a result of distracted driving. When you are driving, even looking away from the road for a few seconds can result in missing several things, whether it is a little kid riding a bike on the side of the road or a car that is crossing the center line. A few seconds of not looking at the road at the wrong time can end tragically. 
As a result of my own experiences driving, I now have a deeper understanding of what impaired driving is and why it is important to avoid and prevent it. Once, when I was driving down the road, my sisters were talking to me and being distracting because they were fighting over the directions to get to where I was supposed to meet our grandpa. They distracted me so much that I didn’t notice the brake lights of the car in front of me. When I finally noticed, I had to slam on the brakes to quickly slow down, and luckily, I slowed down in time. This scared me so much because I thought that I was going to hit the car in front of me. This experience taught me to make sure I know where I am going before I start driving and to learn how to stay more focused when people are being distracting. Driver's education courses can help change attitudes towards impaired driving by raising awareness of the issues about the things that could happen. I remember in my driver's education class, there was a video that showed the effects of texting while driving. It showed people texting short phrases while driving, such as “LOL,” and demonstrated how, in the few seconds they took to type those messages, they got in an accident. By showing the reality of the consequences of impaired driving, my driver's education class made me realize the importance of not driving while distracted, a lesson that I still remember today. These programmes were very effective for raising awareness about the issue of impaired driving, giving a glimpse of real-world situations in which impaired driving has caused accidents.
As a driver, I can decrease the amount of distractions around me while I am driving to ensure my focus does not stray from the road. As a passenger, I can try my best not to distract the driver and limit any distractions in the vehicle. Currently, I strive to be a good role model to my younger sisters, who I drive around a lot. I show them the importance of not getting distracted while driving by refusing to go on my phone or look at the things in the backseat. I hope that in the future, I will continue to influence them in good driving behaviors as they get their driver's licenses. When they get their licenses one day, I hope that they will follow my example and also find it important to prevent impaired driving.
As a result of its misunderstood meaning and the assumption that it only applies to alcohol and drugs, many can practice impaired driving without even realizing it. This can lead to unsafe driving habits, such as texting or using your phone while driving. Through my personal experiences driving and my driver's education class, I have become aware of the importance of preventing impaired driving. In the future, I hope to continue to use good driving habits and decrease the distractions for myself and others while on the road.