Impaired driving is a huge problem in the United States and its remedies are vastly overlooked and undermined. Impaired driving to me is operating any motorized vehicle while your senses are not where they should be. This can include a wide variety of impairments such as blurry vision, sleep deprivation, intoxication, etc. Impaired driving can become easily confused even to drivers who have completed drivers education or traffic school because of the stereotype surrounding impaired driving. Oftentimes when we hear impaired driving we think of the two most common types which are driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. While these two examples are two of the more severe types of impairment and lead to many crashes, injuries, and deaths, they are not the only impairments drivers experience. Something as simple as a lack of sleep the night before can severely impair you making you an unsafe driver. While these may not be the big scary scenarios that make the news they are certainly just as dangerous to you and other people on the road. The most common impairments in today's driving world are drugs or alcohol, distractions, and drowsiness. Distractions can include anything that takes your mind, hands, or eyes away from driving; however the most common in today's age is phones. Phones are so dangerous because of the sheer number of people who own one as well as the fact that it takes your mind, hands, and eyes away from driving all at once. Drowsy driving is also very dangerous due to the fact that it can impact your senses and make you think and react much slower than normal. This can lead to delayed or unwise decisions while driving. There was a story shared in drivers ed by the instructors that really slapped me in the face with the harsh reality of impaired driving. The couple that was instructing my class had a personal past experience with an impaired driving incident. A family member of theirs had been at a party drinking. They were too ashamed to ask their parents for a ride because they knew the trouble that they would be in. This led to them driving themselves home where they wrapped their car around a tree and died that night. Hearing a sad story such as this really impacted me, showing me the severity that these actions can have. Not only that but the fact that it was something personal they shared showed me that it is a reality and not just a story you hear on the news that happens far away. In addition to this I also once heard a story on the news about a drunk driver who hit a car and killed three little kids in the back seat yet he lived. This story really hit me because of the fact that while the man who was driving intoxicated was harmed but not killed, he ended the lives of three young children and took those kids away from their parents. This is a prime example of why our actions on the road should be wise because they not only affect us but they affect everyone else out there. I think that there are two big things that drivers education and traffic schools can do to raise awareness and change people's attitudes towards impaired driving. One is to share personal and harsh stories of experiences people have with this topic. The goal is not to traumatize the students but to give them something that has an emotional effect on them which will help them be aware of impaired driving. The other thing I think should be heavily focused on in these classes is teaching and raising the awareness that drunk and drugged driving are not the only kinds of impaired driving. Students need to learn that something as simple as driving on little sleep can have the same huge consequences as driving under the influence. I think one of the biggest roles I can play personally is just by being a voice and discouraging any kind of driving impairment. This could be something as simple as telling a friend they probably shouldn’t drive because of how tired they are and that I will drive them instead. It can also be the harder but much needed task of telling others to not put themselves in a position where they will be driving drunk or stopping them from doing such things. Hearing these stories and the harsh reality of impaired driving has shown me that there is no time for worrying about not being the “cool kid” because the safety of others is involved so I must be a positive voice to those around me.