Impaired driving has unfortunately been too normalized now. Open any social media platform and you'll most likely find a joke about giving someone their keys whilst being four beers deep. This may come across as satire to some, but others may take it seriously. I can laugh and point at these jokes and realize this is something I'd never do, but it has become reality to many, especially those with moldable minds and who will believe anything they see on Instagram is acceptable to do. 
       Impaired driving, to me, is defined by not being fully conscious while driving. That may be influenced by drugs, or could even mean driving while sleep deprived. Driving itself is a risk, and one that many people take in order to reduce travel time, but by being impaired in any way increases that hazard ten fold. Those who take any driver's education class will know that drugs will diminish your driving skills, but they don't realize that sleep deprivation is also a crucial bit in that. Annually, 100,000 crashes are caused by it according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Because it's something that isn't caused by mind-altering paraphernalia, I feel that most people don't recognize it as a major hazard on the road.
       Currently, being enrolled in college, I mostly see drug induced driving. I keep tabs on the crime log provided by campus police, and often there is a DUI on the list from the past week. Obviously, drinking disrupts brain communication, which reduces judgment and coordination. Loosing these abilities can result in serious injury or fatality when driving. In doing this, those who drive under the influence of alcohol put themselves, and anyone else on the road in a risky situation. 
       In previous years, I have seen and heard of these occasions before. I've watched a car slam into the bumper of another while I was crossing the street. After keeping an eye on the local police Facebook that day, I found the arrest of a man convicted with a DUI. Otherwise, I have not experienced any fatalities. Although, when driving on any road, there is a chance I'll see a vigil dedicated to someone who perished while driving. Obviously I can't make the assumption that said person was under any influence, but you can presume that a few have died while driving impaired. In seeing these memorials and hearing other people's stories of their loved ones passing away in a drunk driving accident, I have not driven impaired, or caught a ride from someone I knew was participating in any party activities. I do not believe that the grief suffered by my parents and my brothers would ever dissipate, and the restrictions placed on my siblings would be detrimental to their teenage experience. I fear that they would live with the worry of something happening to my brothers, and in turn, would lead them to a life filled with agony and the angst of driving.
       Driver's education sure can try to convince newer drivers to not drive under any influence, but most people are there to complete the course and get their permit. Implementing a small section dedicated to alternatives like Uber would be beneficial in my opinion. Talking about other options to driving impaired like asking a friend or a trusted adult may be out of their comfort zone, but may be helpful to those who think about driving home in a pinch. On a better (but more morbid) note, the videos they show are definitely scarring and can scare anyone straight. As most students learn well with visual aid, the videos shown are impacting, and do the job well. I believe that they are very helpful, and a good implementation in the driver's education course. Watching someone have a good time and then suddenly, their life is stripped from them, is a very impactful scene to watch as a new driver.
       As I am a licensed driver, and have seen said videos, I do not drive impaired in fear of the loss my family would suffer, or the pain I could cause another family. I nag on my brother, who is newly licensed, to always be safe when driving. I continue to tell him that peer pressure isn't real, and if he is under the influence, he can always call our parents or me. I'd rather him get home safe than sorry. On the same note, any friend I have going to a party, I encourage to call me if they need a ride. I resent impaired driving, and will offer a seat in my car to anyone who cannot drive home.