When people think of impaired driving, they often think of drugs, alcohol, or prescription medication. But the one I fear the most is one that can't be checked with a blood or urine test: fatigue. Fatigue is an often-overlooked impairment, even by those who have completed driver's education. This is because fatigue is nearly impossible to measure. Sleep has become extremely undervalued, especially in the workforce and academia. As a result, many people are chronically sleep-deprived, including the majority of drivers. However, this isn’t the only factor at play with fatigue. The number of hours a person has worked, the amount of physical activity they’ve completed, and even their mental state all contributes to the amount of fatigue a person may have. It is also difficult because everyone has different limitations. What may feel like a light walk in the park may feel like running a marathon to others, and these limits may vary day to day. These limits combined with a lack of sleep make it easy for fatigue to sneak up on people quickly. 

 

Fatigue is also a consequence of consuming alcohol. Alcohol is the most common impairment among drivers, and falling asleep at the wheel is unfortunately a frequent result of consuming it. In addition to this, alcohol reduces your reaction time and coordination, which makes it difficult to react to things like traffic lights, signage, other vehicles, and pedestrians. Drunk drivers are often not the only victims of the accidents they cause. In fact, every day, 34 people in the United States die from drunk-driving accidents. These preventable deaths are often the result of drivers failing to brake, swerving, drifting out of their lane, or even running head-on into obstacles.  

Several years ago, my mother told me a story that changed the way I think about driving. When my mother was in high school, she had a friend who was in a few of her classes. She was a good student; she didn't drink or smoke or stay out partying. But when she was driving home one night, she fell asleep at the wheel. She drove straight off the road into a ditch, where she was killed. She was just about to graduate from high school. This story meant a lot to me because I’m about the same age as she was when she passed. The idea of my life ending because of one preventable mistake is extremely frightening. This story showed me how even people who do everything "right" can still become impaired drivers. So, since I started driving, I have taken care to make sure I have enough energy to stay fully alert the entire time I'm driving. It's meant that there's been times where I've pulled over to take naps in parking lots, driveways, and even on the sides of roads when I’ve felt my eyes drooping. I’ve even had times where I outright refused to drive until I could take some time to rest before getting behind the wheel. 

Driver's education and traffic school courses can help change the attitudes around impaired driving by showing all the outcomes of all forms of impaired driving through videos and simulations. Forcing students to see exactly what could happen to them helps to leave a lasting impact. This impact could save their life by allowing them to catch themselves even when inebriated, tired, or just plain out of it. It's one thing to say no to impaired driving while awake with a fresh cup of coffee, but quite another to do the same while exhausted after a long day at work. It could also help by teaching them what to do when they face an impaired driver, and how they can keep themselves safe from everything from texters to drunk drivers. 

Preventing impaired driving starts with sowing the seed early. I can do this by sharing what I’ve learned about fatigue and impaired driving with new drivers. Learning and maintaining good habits in the beginning will help set up the next generation of drivers for optimal safety. This will also help prepare them to fight back against newer impairments like texting and calling. In addition to this, I can work to enlighten my fellow drivers who already have experience by holding them to the same standards I hold myself. Campaigns can be effective, but the change needs to start with us. By encouraging others to join the fight against impaired driving, I can inspire small changes that will grow bigger and bigger over time. Impaired driving is a problem that I believe can be conquered, one nap at a time.