Impaired driving is a dangerous thing that causes many injuries and deaths every day to both the driver or other innocent people. Many different situations can fall under the impaired driving umbrella from operating a motor vehicle while you’re fatigued to driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Impaired driving to me is something that can be easily preventable and should never happen in the first place. All of the people that had been killed by an impaired driver could still be here, happy and healthy, if only the driver simply hadn’t decided to start up their car. I think one of the most common and the deadliest type of impaired driving is driving while you’re texting. So many do it because they believe it’s not that big of a deal if they take their eyes off the road for a split second to look at or use their phone. This can be a grave mistake and one bad decision that can even lead them, or others, to their graves. Going at high speeds like 70 mph or higher on places like highways or where situations can quickly change and need your full attention. There's been many cases and accounts of teenagers and young adults getting into brutal crashes all because they couldn’t get their nose out of their phone while driving. Putting the phone down while you’re operating a motor vehicle won’t kill you, but messing around on your device while driving just might. Another common and deadly type of impaired driving is driving while under the influence. Driving while under the influence means that you are under the effect of whatever you took or drank, whether this is drugs or alcohol, the aftermath can still be incredibly brutal. When you’re under the effect of drugs or alcohol, you’re not fully present where you are, and your reaction time is slowed drastically compared to when you’re sober. Being under the influence harshly affects your judgement as well. You may think that you are invincible and you’re the best drunk driver ever in the world, but you’re not, and you’re only going to cause someone’s death or your own. Reaction times are important, especially with driving on the road with other, unpredictable people. When your reaction time is tremendously slowed and delayed, it can mean you won’t react quick enough to sudden and dangerous changes. This can mean catastrophic and deadly outcomes if you get into a crash, especially at high speeds like on the highway or in rural areas. If you get into a crash at say 70 mph, or higher even, it almost certainly means death or some life changing injury to you and whoever else is involved in the crash. One example of how the decision to drive drunk only leads to pain is where they showed us a video in driver’s ed where someone’s father got hit straight on by a drunk driver. The aftermath of the crash was brutal and both cars looked like they were crushed like aluminum foil balls. Both the father and drunk driver had gotten killed in the crash just because the man couldn’t have gotten a ride from one of his friends or called someone else to pick him up. The story made me angry because of how easily it could’ve been prevented and how that father could still be here. That made me think of my own family members or friends getting into any type of accidents like that and just how devastating it would be for me and the other people who know them. They’re scary to think about and just how helpless you’d feel without being able to do anything to get them back or get justice for the person that killed them. One way to further prevent impaired driving more than just saying, “Don’t do it, it's dangerous!” is to actually show people the aftermath and fatalities that impaired driving caused. Of course this wouldn’t fully remove the issue, but it would be a solid start to hopefully eradicating the danger. Showing people what happens if they do dangerous stuff might set them right and help prevent any further deaths from occurring. It’s all so easily preventable people just need to not make the life ending decisions of getting behind the wheel when they shouldn’t. Driving education can and traffic schools can help a lot in putting an end to impaired driving if people listened to the risks they told you. I can also help by making sure none of my friends drive while under the influence, or when they are at risk of unsafe driving. Impaired driving is easily preventable, people just need to learn not to make the stupid and bad decision to get behind the wheel.