As soon as I turned 15, I was ready to be on the road, I vividly remember following my mom around the house begging for her to teach me how to drive “just around the neighborhood” I would repeat endlessly. I have always been a very nervous person, so my mom wasn’t very excited to be the one to teach me, so she searched for a driving school where I could go and learn with people who were more prepared for new drivers.

           One of the main things we learn about in drivers' education is impaired driving; we learn how important it is to never get behind the wheel while being any kind of impaired. We were shown many kinds of videos, some reenacting what impaired driving can lead to and some with real life people who have been affected by impaired driving. Impaired driving means more than just what it sounds like, it's more than drunk driving, it's more than driving while under the influence, it is a selfish act that can be easily avoided. This act can change everyone's life in the event something horrible happens. Many people misunderstand this for many reasons; I think the biggest reason for this being misunderstood is many people have this thought “that would never happen to me” every single person is guilty of having this thought, this is why I believe many people still drive while being impaired.  

           There are many things that could be considered impaired driving, some more common than others. When trying to figure out which one I find the most common I have a hard time picking between drunk driving and cellphone use, in my mind I believe these are both the most common now a days when it comes to impaired driving. When drunk people often find it that their vision is impaired, their ability to stay in one lane is gone and most of the time their whole common sense of driving is thrown out. Cellphone use even if for a second you look away it can still be very dangerous, with technology being such a huge part of our everyday lives now it is easy to get distracted by your cellphones, we might be just quickly replying to a message or answering a phone call really fast or even be changing the song just for a moment. All these things take just about 5 seconds which doesn’t seem like such a huge deal, but in reality, those 5 seconds could cost you and or someone else on the road their life.

             After completing my driver's education program and getting my permit I begged and begged for a car, I explained to my mom how much easier it would be for everyone if I got my own car. I was over the moon when finally getting my car, I drove everywhere all summer I found everywhere and everything to do just for an excuse to drive. Once the school year started, I found myself stressed out trying to stay on top of my academics, my clubs and organizations, and my part-time job. I can admit all I would think about all day was how much I had to get done and how little time I had, even while driving I would get completely in my head and often lose focus on what I was doing at that moment. One morning on my way to school, I would say I was about 2 minutes from the parking lot of my school it was in viewpoint, and I was sitting at a red light I had both my sisters with me and I was just thinking about all the midterm work I had to complete and what days my projects where due for my clubs and trying to see what days I could do them when I didn’t have work. Once the light turned green, I waited till it was clear for me to go, I saw a red ram truck come around the conner and I still had time to go also with it being a school zone I believed everyone was going 20 mph and  figured  I was  safe to go. In that moment I turned the red ram truck rammed the side of my car, and I spun out into the middle of the rode.

          That crash was one of the most horrifying things to happen to me, I was devastated I had only had my car for 4 months and I had completely totaled it. Even though I wasn’t under the influence of any kind of substance and I wasn’t on my phone, I still think I was driving impaired because of the fact I wasn’t staying focused on what I was doing. I was completely distracted with my mind racing. Now when driving I remind myself that all my problems will still be there once I get to my destination, and that the only thing that matters when I am on the road is the road. I should only worrier with what is happening in front of me, even though it is hard I have found myself shutting off that little voice in the back of my mind telling me about all my problems as soon as I enter the driver's seat.

           Taking a driver's education course can set us all up for success. I am not saying it will completely stop crashes, but it will help more people understand the roads. I am not a pro at driving, but I do know what I can do to make the roads safer, and I can help others understand this as well. One thing I always remember my driving teacher saying is “the scariest thing about driving is not that you're on the road it's that other people are on the road as well” this quote all makes me think how can we do better as a community to make sure we are not all in danger, if we all have better knowledge on the roads we can build a strong and safe place for us to all live.