Even though those first few weeks of driving are a series of hard brakes, close calls, and rolling stops, many truly feel they are good drivers. I wish this were only true of the younger generation, but it also applies to a certain mental breed of drivers who assume the worst things won't happen to them. Whether it is due to their lack of understanding of what constitutes a good driver or a misplaced faith in their own ability, each day they feel ready to take on the world with their own ideologies of what good driving entails. Unfortunately, this is the downfall and even the death of many, as overconfidence in one's abilities is one overlooked form of impaired driving.  

Impaired driving is more than the use of substances that affect your senses and the power of reason.  The true definition of impaired driving is the operation of a motorized vehicle while your mental, physical, psychological, and emotional state is compromised. I feel it is often misunderstood by many because of two things that negate what they have been taught in class. 1. There is a strict penalty for the use of substances that impair your judgement while driving. A law that is enforced is a law that is feared. However, there are still some who will take a risk because of the second reason. 2. There are social stigmas in most places that tell drivers things like: the speed limit equates to the minimal speed one should be going, fully stopping at a sign is not necessary, and since you have never been stopped for drinking before, you won't get caught this time. People are numbed to the things that contribute to impaired driving by their peers, the media, and overconfidence. 

Some of the more common impairments are fatigue, texting, and drinking. Fatigue affects things like one's reaction time, making split-second decisions almost impossible. Texting affects things like one's situational awareness and control by splitting their attention and physical control of the vehicle in half. If the only way we could drive was by seeing the world in a series of quick live images before looking down again, it would be a nightmare. Drinking affects things like one’s optical senses like depth perception, peripheral, and color/contrast sensitivity. Unfortunately, I have had an up-close encounter with the mind of a "professional" drunk driver. I was very young and an older lady I used to live with named Katie would carry a beer or two with her on the road. She would drink them as she drove, and often times she drove late into the night. When I had no choice but to ride with her, I would see her take a swig of beer and trace the white and yellow lines on the road with her tires (occasionally coloring outside of them). She would sway like that the whole ride. I would grip the door and pray for the moment when I could just get out of the car. It wasn't until she came home one night raving and cursing, that she had been stopped by a cop that I realized something. She had been taught to drive in a time when drinking while driving was not a big deal. The law was enforced subjectively by officials, and she had been a product of that time. We would proceed to hear about this horrible cop who ruined her life for several years afterward. I wish I could shake his hand cause somehow I know that man saved someone's life by taking her off the road. 

I am a strong believer in the power of knowledge. Having a deeper understanding of something can change how you look at it. For instance, drivers education can tell you not to text and drive until they are blue, however, seeing the effects of that action is the most effective way to make a point. Driver's education classes that involve visual aids and reenactments create a connection between what is being said and how it is emotionally and mentally understood. However, humans have the tendency to forget for one reason or another, so I feel that taking lessons every few years would be effective in keeping that understanding. Other than being an example myself, I am the designated driver because I refuse to drink when I know I have to drive. I am the peer pressure on my friends and family that insists they put their phones down. The reminder of Katie sits with me every time I get in my vehicle. I refuse to lose my ability to see others' lives as just as valuable as my own.