Safe driving is something everyone should understand, as it can truly be a life-changing choice. Learning about safe driving helps individuals recognize the serious responsibilities that come with being behind the wheel. When I think about impaired driving, many thoughts come to mind, such as how easily it can turn a regular drive into a tragic situation, and how one poor decision can impact countless lives. Understanding the importance of driving sober and staying focused reminds me that every safe choice on the road protects not only myself but everyone around me. Impaired driving to me means being intoxicated, on drugs, medicated or not, and under the influence of anything that impairs your body or mind. Impaired driving means unsafe and irresponsible driving. I believe it is sometimes misunderstood in driver’s education classes because the legal age to be under the influence of alcohol is 21. When you receive your license in Illinois, you are at the age of 16. It is also misunderstood that even under the legal limit at age 21 of alcohol, your mind and body can still be impaired. People also underestimate how long drugs or alcohol can stay in their system. Some think that they can “sleep it off,” when in reality, you can wake up in the morning with those substances still in your system and still be impaired when driving. When a person completes traffic school, they feel like they know everything about what can and will happen, but awareness doesn’t always mean you will make good judgment at that time.  

There are so many different types of impairments, such as texting, alcohol, drugs, and fatigue. The most common one among teenagers today is texting, along with alcohol and drugs. When on your phone, your eyes and mind are not entirely focused on what is in front of you. This can cause accidents, swerving between lanes, because a person is not paying attention to the road and is more focused on their phone. Drugs can affect driving ability by causing dizziness, drowsiness, or slowed reflexes. This can increase the risk of swerving, missing signals, and delayed braking. Alcohol can affect driving ability by causing slowed reaction time, impaired judgment and decision making, coordination and balance, blurred vision, and weakened focus. Alcohol increases the risk of aggravated driving; it lowers inhibition, and increases the risk 10 times higher for getting into car accidents and causing fatalities and injuries. Mixing drugs and alcohol amplifies all of these possible impairments.  

During my freshman year of college, I was sitting in my dorm room having what I thought was a typical day. I was doing homework and hanging out with friends when my phone started ringing. It was my mom. I picked it up, and she told me that she had some unfortunate news to say to me. She proceeded to tell me that Mr. Gillan had passed away. We weren’t sure what the details were until days later, when an article came out. The article stated that a drunk driver struck his vehicle. From that point on in my life, drunk driving was something that became super relevant in my life. It is something that I never messed around with, but when the incident happened with my high school teacher, it just amplified the way I felt about it. I will never put myself behind the wheel while I am impaired. It not only puts me in a dangerous and unsafe position but also puts everyone else who is driving at risk.  

Driver’s education and traffic school courses help change attitudes and behaviors around impaired driving by increasing awareness of its dangers, teaching responsibility, and providing real-world examples of the consequences. These programs are effective because they use interactive lessons, simulations, and personal stories to make the risks feel honest and emotional. They also reinforce safe driving habits, encourage decision-making skills like planning a sober ride, and promote social norms that view impaired driving as unacceptable. This combination of knowledge, experience, and accountability helps drivers make safer choices on the road.  

In my personal life, I can play a role in preventing impaired driving by holding my friends and the people around me accountable. For example, if I am hosting a party, I would take the keys from the people drinking, and they would not be able to leave until the morning. This is something I learned from my mother, as she would do it with my older brother and his friends, along with me and my friends. By learning about the effects of drugs, alcohol, and texting, I can share the information with my friends so they know just how much an impairment can affect their driving abilities and how much risk they put themselves and others at.