One day, after my friends and I got lunch together, we were on our way home, and I was driving. On the opposite side of the freeway, we saw a car get hit and flip into the median and catch on fire. People started rushing to get the man out of the car, making sure he was okay. Luckily, I reacted quickly during the accident and swerved to the other side of the road to avoid getting hit with any debris. I realize now that if I had not had such a fast reaction time, my car would have been hit and might have caught on fire.

To me, “impaired driving” means driving when you shouldn't. Whether that be without glasses, under the influence, something wrong with the car, or heavy rain causing you to not see in the distance, I think all of these can be classified as impaired driving. The exact definition is “the act of operating a motor vehicle with factors that reduce your ability to drive safely.” Sometimes, impaired driving is misunderstood as something that can only happen when under the influence, as that is one of the most common forms of impaired driving. Some don’t know that impaired driving can also mean having the influence of things that cause slower reaction times, reduced concentration, and poor judgment. So yes, this does mean being under the influence of things like drugs or alcohol, but it can also mean not wearing your prescription glasses when driving, not being able to see in front of you due to the weather, and even having something playing in the background on your phone that distracts you. 

The most common type of driving impairment in today's world is drug-impaired driving, but also, surprisingly, drowsy driving or driving while being tired. Drug-impaired driving can affect someone's ability to drive by affecting judgment and coordination. Taking substances like marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, hallucinogens, and others can have massive effects not only on your driving but also on how your driving affects others' lives as well. The choice to take substances before driving puts many people's lives at risk and is not a smart decision. The same goes for drowsy driving. Drowsy driving is mainly caused by being too tired to drive and ending up falling asleep on the road. Drowsy driving causes a lack of judgment and reaction time, which can cause crashes and hurt many people. This is most common with people who have a busy schedule and not enough time to relax or sleep. Online sources advise taking a break from driving every 1-2 hours when tired to prevent unsafe driving for long periods of time. Even though these two are the most common forms of impaired driving, they are not the only forms of unsafe driving. Some other causes of impaired driving include driving under the influence of fear or severe anxiety, using a cell phone, eating, looking for something in the car, being distracted by passengers, and much more. 

While there have been lots of drunk driving accidents in the area I grew up in, I would say the one experience that changed my perspective was seeing that car crash firsthand. Ever since then, I realized how important it is to drive safely. Knowing that more people die from car accidents than wars really puts into perspective how dangerous driving can be if we don't take the right approach. I also realize that if I were driving while having my friends distract me, under the influence, or looking at my phone, I would not have reacted quickly enough to be able to pull over before the car hit my side of the road. This experience I had with my friends changed the way we view driving. Now, I don't risk my life to answer that text or change that song; instead, I wait till I come to a stop. I minimize my distractions so my driving isn't impaired, and my friends do the same. 

Driver’s education and traffic school courses can help educate people on the meaning of impaired driving, the misinformation regarding it, and how they can prevent it. I think updating the driver's ed curriculum and making it more fun and interactive can help create a more engaged environment and make people actually want to learn more about how to prevent car accidents caused by impaired driving. For example, introducing a car simulator game at the beginning of the course to engage students before teaching them about impaired driving could make them more interested in learning about it. This could also make the program effective in real-world scenarios by setting them up with the most realistic scenarios in the game.

I personally want to have an effect on reducing the number of impaired drivers across the country. While I would say a good way is to improve drunk driving laws and mandates, I feel like creating stricter laws might not reduce impaired driving but just entice more people to do it. Some ideas I have to reduce impaired driving are to install passive safety technology into cars so that cars can warn drivers to get off the road when they notice their driving is off, and also help them drive in case they fall asleep or their judgment and reaction time is impaired. By having more late-night transportation systems that are open to the public, like buses, we can also prevent impaired driving big time. By making buses more accessible to certain neighborhoods and for longer hours, people will feel inclined to take them. I also think providing safe rides on college campuses is a smart decision. For example, my school has an NYU safe ride, which operates from 11 pm-6 am the entire week, providing students with ways to get home from different NYU buildings without having to walk home drunk or drive distracted. 

These are just some of the solutions I see in my life that I think could be implemented in a lot of other cities and states. Impaired driving can be mitigated, and even though it might never go away, we can try to minimize its impact one way or another.