Most of us have a loved one who has been impacted by a driving incident, whether from distraction, fatigue, or something more serious like drunk driving. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes behind the wheel: putting a hole in the garage wall with my dad’s truck, scraping my mom’s car, and backing into a basketball goal. Those early experiences taught me how easily impairment can take many forms, like being tired, emotional, or distracted, and how quickly they can lead to danger. Most of those mistakes weren't because I was a distracted driver, but simply because I was an inexperienced driver. Those silly mistakes most likely occurred within a 1-year time frame of me getting my license. However, I can’t say the same for every mistake I’ve made. I’ve reversed into a brick wall because I was distracted by friends in the parking lot, and there have been times I’ve caught myself drifting out of my lane because I was on my phone or when I was too tired to focus. Fatigue and distraction may not seem as dangerous as alcohol or drugs, but they’re just as impairing—and just as deadly. I’m lucky that I haven’t been involved in a major accident. What I might deem a “silly mistake” could very well be the event that puts someone in danger, or worse, kills them.

When you step back and take the time to think about it, you realize how easy it is to get distracted, how casual it feels in the moment, and also how dangerous it truly is. There have even been times when I’ve been scared for myself, like when I started feeling tired and found myself nodding off at the wheel. It’s scary to think about what can happen in an instant.

When my dad gifted me a brand new 2025 Chevy Trax, I promised myself things would be different. This was mostly due to the fact that the car has Apple CarPlay, where you can text, call, or change music hands-free. I thought that technology would fix the problem. I told myself I would stop using my phone altogether while driving, and that I’d finally be the cautious driver I wanted to be. But, like many young drivers, I broke my own promises. I still find myself glancing at notifications or trying to find the perfect song when I shouldn’t. I’ve made a bad habit of texting and even Googling something that could have waited until later. The truth is, I’ve convinced myself that I’m multitasking, that driving is second nature now, that I can handle it. But those are dangerous thoughts, because driving should never be a background task.

My uncle, Benjamin Bolek Piechoczek, died at just nineteen years old in a car crash caused by another driver’s negligence. He wasn’t impaired, but the person behind the other wheel was. His death opened my eyes to how often impairment destroys lives. It was a heartbreaking reminder of how fragile life is, and how driving, something that we do every single day, can instantly take everything away. We forget so easily that when we get into our cars, we are sitting behind the wheel of a two-ton machine that can end lives in seconds.

I often think of my uncle, but I also think of my best friend, who has been in two car accidents, my other good friend, whose car was totaled in a crash, and my boyfriend, who walked away from an accident that injured his spine, and to this day, he lives with back pain because of it. All these people that I love lived to tell their stories. My uncle didn’t. And every time that comes to mind, I realize the next story could be mine (or someone else’s) if I don’t take responsibility for the way I drive.

Impaired driving isn't just about texting or focusing too much on the music-it's about mindset. It's about how easily we lose awareness of the weight of what we're doing when we're behind the wheel. Driving becomes second-nature. And safety gets put on the back burner. Efforts to spread awareness often go in one ear and out the other. Young people are told over and over again not to text and drive, but hearing it isn’t the same as believing it. We all think, “it won't happen to me”. Until it almost does.

I believe the first step to changing that mindset is through personal reflection. If we all took one moment to count how many people we personally know who have been in a car accident, it would be hard not to acknowledge the dangers of distracted driving and how prevalent an issue it really is. It isn't something that happens to "other people." It's happening to our friends, our families, and ourselves. After thinking about the people we care about, we should next think about ourselves and take a look at our own driving habits in order to think of ways we can do better.

That awareness can be powerful. We can start small by doing things like putting our phones on "Do Not Disturb" while driving and setting up a playlist before we leave. Another step would be to remember to speak up as a passenger. If a friend is texting, driving too fast, swerving on the road, or maybe not wearing their seatbelt, consider saying something. It might feel uncool to call someone out, but it's better than staying silent and regretting it later.

Regarding raising awareness for other young drivers, I feel like a good strategy would be to use peer-to-peer influence and storytelling, rather than the overused billboard sayings such as “don’t text and drive” or “click it or ticket”. Hearing other people's stories of loss and/or survival would make the issue feel more real. Schools could create programs where experiences are shared by students in their own words, so teens can hear about distracted driving from a teen's perspective. I feel like preventing risky driving behavior shouldn’t be about lecturing, but about emotionally connecting to the issue.

Social media could also play a huge role. We use apps like TikTok and Instagram every day, so what if we used those platforms to normalize responsible driving? The possibilities are countless, for example, a viral “Get Ready With Me” trend, but for driving, showing the steps you take before a safe drive, or a movement to share a story time and who you "drive safe for”. Ideas like these could make safety feel like something everyone wants to participate in, not just something to roll your eyes at.

I also believe a powerful way to prevent impaired driving is education that goes beyond just passing a test. When I took my driver’s ed course, it mostly felt like memorizing rules, not learning about real consequences. However, the course did integrate some videos that caught my attention. I think driver’s education courses should be more interactive and engaging to make teens feel like they can actually make a difference by raising awareness and following the rules they’re being taught. I think that if driver’s education felt more like an experience than an obligation, attitudes toward impaired driving would change.

Raising awareness can help young drivers realize that distracted driving isn't just about risking their own life, but about risking everybody else's too. Finding new, more interactive ways to get the message out that informs while also appealing to emotions could significantly help people make a change in their driving habits.

I need to do a better job of thinking about my uncle and all the other people I love who have been impacted by car accidents. I need to put driving at the forefront and everything else in the background. One decision can change everything, whether that’s getting in the car with someone who isn’t doing the right thing or picking up your phone when you shouldn’t be.

Reflecting on my own impaired driving and my loved ones who have been involved in accidents has encouraged me to be more aware and more responsible. I think there are solutions to the problem of current prevention efforts being ignored. We just have to come together as young drivers to make the effort, because if we all treated driving with the seriousness it deserves, we could save lives.