When asked what impaired driving is, most people picture careless students going home after a night out and the legal issues they will be faced with if they exceed a BAC of 0.08. Many people fail to understand the true definition of impaired driving and what it encompasses. While it is true that driving under the influence is a form of impaired driving, driving with a migraine, after a twelve hour shift, with a crying child in the backseat, while switching music, and driving while on the phone are all forms of impaired driving. Impaired driving is driving in any state that can inhibit one’s ability to drive safely or be aware of their surroundings. This means that anything that can distract a driver and prevent them from being able to fully respond to critical situations on the road can be considered impaired driving. Most accidents and fatalities per year are not caused by the “heartless” alcoholics or drug addicts that people assume try to ruin others’ lives. They are caused by regular people making seemingly innocent choices behind the wheel with ordinary intentions, yet severe consequences. These deadly decisions are so shockingly normal that most people fail to realize their harmful effects until they are faced with lifelong consequences. 

These simple decisions can have devastating effects. In the U.S. alone, a staggering 34,000 people have died in the last year due to impaired driving. The choices that lead people to impaired driving are what continue to affect people daily. For example, eight people in my community have died because of impaired driving in the last two years alone. Edie, Karly, and Sienna were thirteen years old driving a UTV together, when they got lost and ran a stop sign. The girls went straight into oncoming traffic, where they were hit by a grain hauler. Two of the three were dead on scene, and the third survived one day before passing. These girls were younger than I, and they went to a different school, but they were friends of my friends, people my own sisters competed against and grew relationships with, and above all they were sisters in Christ. The same summer, a friend of mine died in the same way. Graydon was driving an ATV in his back yard when he took a corner too fast, consequently flipping the vehicle and breaking his neck. He was pronounced dead the same day. The third accident occurred one year later, when a group of four local teenagers drove into the side of a moving train. In each case, only a split second of distraction took these people from their friends and families forever. The girls talking and trying to figure out where they were at, Graydon not knowing the risks of what he was doing, and the boys driving in a critical state, each small form of impaired driving took eight people from this world. Seemingly harmless drives ended in fatalities in every situation, affecting entire communities of people. 

As demonstrated by a heavy number of deaths on the road per year, people feel invincible when they start driving. This is partially due to a lack of experience and teenage arrogance, but also, no one wants to believe that they could be the next headline because of an accident. It is hard to believe how things that come so easily and seem so small could be the cause of so much hurt, too. While it is not my place to point blame at anyone for the recent accidents, I believe that it is impossible for anyone to see my community and walk away unphased by the negative impacts of impaired driving. The past cannot be undone, but accidents can be prevented with the right amount of education surrounding a topic. Whether it’s through driving instructors showing students the aftermath of drunk driving or the drunk goggles that are so popular in classroom settings, people are educated on drunk driving from a young age. While drunk driving is undeniably a problem today, fatigue, texting, and phone calls are what kill more people in two years than the amount of soldiers that died in the Vietnam War. Instead of solely educating drivers on drunk driving, systems should give them more applicable situations that will prepare them for real problems on the road. If institutions correctly prepare drivers for regular situations and teach them defensive driving techniques, the number of accidents caused by impaired driving could be significantly reduced.

After seeing the effects of impaired driving, it is impossible for me to ignore its risks. I now know to pay attention to everything that is happening on the road around me, keep my phone out of sight, and limit distractions, because even a split second of distraction can be deadly. As proved by the recent accidents, even the three seconds that it takes to read a text or look back at a friend is enough time to travel the distance of a football field and change someone’s life forever. It isn’t feasible to say that a string of events in a rural, middle of nowhere community will affect what choices people will make everywhere. However, change always starts with a decision. My decision is to stay informed and to inform others. Each informed person means one more potential decision to drive safely. If awareness increases, I know that less communities will suffer in the way mine has. No parent deserves to hear that their child died, no sibling deserves a lost brother or sister. With a clearer definition of what impaired driving is, informed people, and prepared drivers, the world will be a safer, happier place.