Most people don’t realize how dangerous driving really is. For many drivers, getting behind the wheel has become second nature. We get up, get ready, get in the car, and go. When something becomes routine, people stop respecting how risky it actually is. In the Washington Army National Guard, I learned that getting comfortable around dangerous things is when people get hurt. When preparing to fire a mortar, we follow strict steps and checks every single time. There is an SOP for every task because one moment of carelessness can cost limbs and lives. Driving may not feel as serious as handling explosives, but the danger is still present, and the consequences can be just as real.

A big problem is that many people misunderstand what impairment actually means. For a long time, being sober was the only qualification people focused on. This confusion isn’t just with new drivers either. Even people who went through driver’s ed years ago or have been driving for decades still think this way. But impairment is more than that. Smartphones, for example, aren’t taken nearly as seriously as they should be. Many drivers got their license before smartphones were common, so their classes never mentioned scrolling or notifications. If you do simple math, at 60 mph you’re covering around 90 feet every second. So responding to a quick text in five seconds is basically driving blind for 450 feet.

Impairment includes anything that lowers your ability to react, think clearly, or make good choices. Some things are obvious, alcohol slows reaction time and judgment, and drugs or medication can affect coordination. Other things aren’t talked about as much. Fatigue makes drivers drift out of lanes and react late. Weather can also impair you if you don’t make proper adjustments. I see this a lot in the Pacific Northwest. When it snows, some drivers make it their mission to prove how good they are at winter driving. Others trust their AWD too much and think it makes them invincible. Some people don’t even turn on their headlights in heavy rain. And sometimes impairment is emotional. Driving while upset or distracted by something heavy in your life can be just as dangerous. I’ve known someone who crashed simply because they were too emotional to focus.

My view of impaired driving changed the most after seeing the effects up close. My mom got into a car crash on a road we use all the time. A few years later, my wife crashed on that same road. Both times it was not their fault. Those moments were scary, but they hit even harder after my cousin died in a car crash. He left behind a young daughter, and I watched how that loss shook the whole family. None of those crashes were on highways or during storms. They were supposed to be normal days, but that’s what makes driving so dangerous, the normal moments are when people let their guard down.

Other countries take driving more seriously than the U.S. does. In Sweden and Norway, drivers go through multiple stages of hazard awareness courses, and far more difficult training and exams. Germany requires advanced training before driving on the Autobahn, and drivers there are taught discipline, awareness, and respect for speed. These countries have far lower fatality rates than the United States, even though they drive in harsh weather or on roads with no speed limits. They treat driving as a skill that requires regular training, not something you learn once and never revisit. Meanwhile, here we get our license as teenagers and then never take another class for the rest of our lives. No refresher courses. No updated training. Nothing. People assume they “know how to drive” because they’ve done it for years. But experience doesn’t erase the risks.

I personally believe drivers shouldn’t be able to renew their license forever without retaking at least some form of safety training. If phones, cars, and roads keep changing, our training should change too.

Drivers ed and traffic safety courses can help, and it really does make people think differently when they’re shown real stories instead of just reading rules out of a book. Modern drivers ed include tired driving, phone addiction, drug impairment, weather behavior, and mental focus. When people see the real consequences, they think differently about their choices. That’s how it worked for me. However, fixing impaired driving is bigger than drivers ed.

There’s also a long history of pushback against safety measures. Remember COVID-19? People didn’t like seatbelt laws when they first came out. Some still don’t. The same thing happens when any new law is passed. As a society, we need a whole shift in how we think about driving. For combat, I would be required to wear my ballistic vest, helmet, safety glasses, and hearing protection. What’s our protection for something even more dangerous? Seatbelts.

I try to approach driving the same way I approach danger in the Guard. Stay alert, stay calm, and don’t get comfortable just because you’ve done something a thousand times. I’m not perfect, but I do make an effort to keep my phone down, use both hands, and slow down when the weather turns bad. Simply put, I take it seriously. Driving can feel like a normal part of life, but it’s one of the most dangerous things we do, and impairment shows up in more ways than people realize. With better training, updated drivers ed, and people taking their own habits seriously, we could prevent a lot of the crashes that happen every day. Safe driving isn’t just following laws, it’s respecting how quickly things can go wrong.