Although we might not consider it, the time we spend driving to school or work is likely the most dangerous part of our day. Each time we get behind the wheel, we hold the power to destroy a life, and each time we are on the roads, we are forced to trust others to drive unimpaired. The responsibilities that accompany driving are often overlooked and neglected until it is too late, yielding tragic outcomes. Oftentimes, that familiarity of driving disguises the risks that accompany it. Driving is one of the few everyday tasks that poses life-or-death risks every time we do it, due to the unfortunate truth that many people drive while impaired. To minimize the consequences of impaired driving, it is important that we consider how personal responsibility, risk assessment, and self-awareness might shape safe-driving behaviour and prevent irreversible damage.

While Merriam-Webster defines DUI as “the act or crime of driving a vehicle while affected by alcohol or drugs,” I believe that there are many other influences that contribute to impaired driving. To me, impaired driving means driving under any conditions that diminish alertness or decision-making. Cell phone usage, sleep deprivation, reckless driving, and emotional distress are all major influences that can contribute to impairment.

One of my most memorable encounters with distracted driving was when I was sixteen. During my sophomore year of high school, my best friend rear-ended someone while she was texting and driving. It was only a small fender bender; the damage to the vehicles was very minor, and thankfully nobody was hurt… but what if this wasn’t the case? What if she had been driving ten miles faster? What if she had braked one second later? What if instead of hitting another car, she hit a person? Although these are just what-ifs, moments such as this one reveal a horrifying truth about impaired driving. Consequences of impaired driving almost never begin with malice but always with carelessness. Unfortunately, the significance of impaired driving is often overlooked because the consequences of impaired driving are almost never intentional. Impaired drivers do not get behind the wheel with the intent to take a life—but they still do. It is important to recognize how one careless decision can result in irreversible tragedy, regardless of intention.

While driver’s ed courses are meant to teach young drivers about the mechanics of the road and the traffic laws that govern it, many of these courses fail to equip students with deeper skills such as individual responsibility and effective risk assessment. These gaps harbor devastating effects—not because of ignorance around traffic laws, but because people fail to realize how one moment of impaired judgment might destroy a life until they witness the consequences first-hand. Driver’s education requirements should go far beyond the memorization of rules and hands-on skills, as without proper judgment and reflection even the most informed drivers could make a dangerous decision.

A family friend of mine serves as a heartbreaking example of this. Ten years ago, she made a decision that would destroy her life almost as much as it destroyed the lives around her. After a long night of drinking, she got behind the wheel of her car with the intent to drive herself home. In her impaired state, she ended up driving on the wrong side of the road and hitting another driver head-on, instantly taking the life of the driver and destroying her own forever. Despite having passed driver’s ed almost five years prior to this incident, she lacked the judgment and self-awareness that she needed to realize that she was unfit to drive. That little lapse in judgment cost someone their life. Her decision to drive under the influence of alcohol robbed an innocent woman of her future and robbed an innocent family of their daughter. The grief that followed the accident lingered in her community, serving as a constant reminder of how one careless decision can permanently alter dozens of lives.

My second-hand experiences with impaired driving, both minor and major, have permanently shaped the way I choose to show up behind the wheel. Safety is not governed solely by traffic lights, rules, or road signs, but by the decisions we make in the moments that matter. Preventing tragedy requires responsibility and the selflessness to recognize our own limits. In order to minimize the consequences of impaired driving, it is important to recognize the many forms impairment can take. Whether impairment is due to alcohol, drugs, sleep deprivation, distraction, or emotions, the choice to drive under the influence is never the right one. When we drive under the influence, we are risking our lives and the lives of everyone around us. To create safer roads, we must act as if the decisions we make behind the wheel hold the gravity of a life—because they do.