Simeon Strother

November 22, 2025

 

                                                        What Impaired Driving means to me 

To me impaired driving means getting behind the wheel when you’re not really in the right condition to drive safely, even if you think you are. A lot of young drivers, including me when I first started, don’t realize that impairment isn’t just being drunk or high—sometimes it’s normal everyday stuff like being tired after a long day, being stressed, or glancing down at your phone for a second. In driver’s ed we all sit there taking notes, but most teens walk out thinking they already know enough and nothing bad will happen to them. The most common impairment I see now isn’t alcohol, it’s phones. If you’re a teenager today your phone is constantly lighting up with snaps, texts, and random notifications. I’ve seen people in the school parking lot checking their phone while backing out, thinking they’ve got it handled, but they don’t realize a car can travel a long distance in the second it takes to read one message. Fatigue is another one that sneaks up on you. Once I started driving myself everywhere—school, practice, work, homework—I realized how easy it is to feel mentally slowed down and not even catch it. Missing a turn signal, forgetting the last few blocks you drove, reacting late—those are all signs of impairment too, even if no one talks about it. Drugs and alcohol still cause tons of problems, but from what I see, everyday distractions are way more common among my age group. What really changed the way I see impaired driving was something that happened to a friend of mine. They lost someone they cared about because a teen driver looked down at a text for just one moment. No party, no crazy situation, just a normal day and a tiny decision that became permanent.            Hearing them talk about how fast everything changed hit harder than any video or worksheet in class.  After that, I started putting my phone on Do Not Disturb every time I get in the car, because honestly nobody needs a reply that badly. I think driver’s ed actually works best when they make driving feel real, not just a list of rules. When officers come in and talk about accidents they’ve seen, or when you hear real families talk about what they lost, it makes you understand that the rules exist because someone has already lived the consequences. It turns “boring safety info” into something you actually think about when you’re behind the wheel. For my part, I know I can’t control every other driver, but I can control my own decisions. I can choose not to drive when I’m tired or upset to the point that my head isn’t clear, and if I’m riding with someone who starts texting while driving, I can speak up even if it feels uncomfortable. I’d rather have 10 seconds of awkward than spend the rest of my life wishing I’d said something. I also think people notice actions more than words. If I actually follow what I say—no texting, no distracted driving, taking it seriously—maybe the people around me will start thinking differently too. I’m only 17, but I understand now that driving is never casual. Every time I get behind the wheel I think about that story my friend told me, and how one moment of distraction changed so much. Even if I can’t make the world perfect, I can at least make better choices, and that’s where preventing impaired driving really has to start.