I have always heard stories about impaired driving, it can lead to impaired judgment and decision making, slowed reaction times and coordination, vision problems, and erratic driving behaviors. These topics and many more related to impaired driving are the reason for the 20 - 35 percent of road accidents in Minnesota. The word Impaired driving to me means distracted driving because of the consumption of alcohol and drugs that make it difficult to drive. Many people think that impaired driving is only based on alcohol. But it also relates to over the counter drugs, prescription drugs, (even at legal doses) fatigue, and even distraction. Another misunderstanding of impaired driving is that drivers can still be charged with a DWI even if they “only had one drink” and they "aren't fully impaired”. Legally, an officer can pull anyone over, so if they see you and a few friends leaving the bar, they can stop you and ticket you for driving impaired. This topic is heavenly discussed when you get your drivers permit and licence at the mandatory classes you have to attend before taking the permit test and the drivers test. So why do people still drive impaired even though they have been taught not to? I think that with some people, once they get under the influence, they don't even think about not being able to drive.

Out of all the categories that impaired driving falls under, alcohol is the largest reason of impaired driving accidents. Alcohol is a depressant. This depressant impairs the functionality of your brain and nervous system which alerts your brain and body functions to safely operate a car. Alcohol impairs the frontal lobe of the brain. The frontal lobe is responsible for making decisions, self control, and planning ahead. Drinking alcohol leads drivers to make poor decisions, little to no self control, and none or close to no planning ahead, even when the driver is only slightly impaired. Another factor of drinking alcohol is a slow reaction time. The alcohol slows the communication to the brain and delays the drivers ability to react to sudden events on the road. Another part of the brain, the cerebellum, is responsible for your balance and muscle coordination. This impairs your driving by your ability to steer, and use the pedals correctly and accurately. Another thing that alcohol impairs is your vision. Your vision is especially important to driving, because your vision is related to your depth perception and your ability to stop in traffic and stop for something in the road. Another big factor for drinking and driving is your ability to concentrate. When anyone drives, you are likely to have your phone on you. This means if you are under the influence, and your phone dings, you lose concentration on the road to look at your phone and crash. There are many risks to driving drunk. It puts your life in danger, but also the people around you. 

My father drove drunk once, coming from his house back to the cities where his apartment from college was. He said he only had one drink. He was driving his Geo Metro down highway 94, (if you don’t know a Geo Metro is a very small car) late at night. On his way back to his apartment, he hit a deer and totaled his car. The police showed up at the scene and gave him a DWI. This story from my father changed the way I think about impaired driving because my father could have died in that accident. I am lucky to not want to ever drink alcohol, but if that decision were to ever change, I would never want to drink and drive, as it could kill me or lead to serious injury.

Of course, classes can change the outcome of the number of accidents that happen with impaired driving. We all take classes before we get our licenses, and we talk about alcohol consumption and impaired driving (they even brought drunk goggles to our class). The other ways the government is trying to solve drunk driving is signing people up for classes after drunk driving, and making sure they know the consequences of their actions.

Everyone can help prevent impaired driving, with enough awareness of course. Police officers come into drivers ed classes and educate the students on how impaired driving can mess up a lot of things in your life. Overall, of all the different forms of impaired driving, it is horrible for you, and the people around you.