Driving is scary. So much so that I’m convinced there is some secret tenth circle of hell where people are damned to drive on I-40 during rush hour for the rest of eternity. 

While I’m no stranger to idiot drivers, I had my first real car accident this past summer. The car I was driving was a high school graduation gift and was, unsurprisingly, very important to me. 

I was back in a car before the summer ended, though it wasn’t without much hesitancy and guilt. I figured another car accident was inevitable, so purchasing a brand-new vehicle over an old “beater” car seemed pointless. It felt as if I should’ve just put a “hit me!” sign on the back windshield. 

It only took six days before an elderly man dented the car’s passenger side after leaving a stop sign prematurely. Three weeks later, I was back behind the wheel of my now freshly repaired vehicle. I’ve become incredibly anxious when on the road, and it isn’t without good reason. 

Though I have always been a safe driver, I obey the rules now to a borderline-obsessive extent. I don’t speed, I always use my turn signal and I would sooner forget my own name than neglect to wear my seat belt. 

My parents emphasized the importance of “defensive driving” when they taught me to drive. While the practice served me well in the past, I found it was no longer sufficient to navigate the trials and tribulations of modern traffic. There will inevitably be at least one instance a week when someone almost hits me, and it’s typically because the opposing driver can’t bring themselves to drive less than 110 miles per hour.

I’ve learned one overarching point in the seven years I’ve been on the road: People do not care about your life. 

In Arkansas, this is especially true. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Arkansas had 21.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020. 

We rank third after Mississippi and Wyoming for the top five states with the most car accident fatalities per 100,000 people. 

I don’t say this to scare people who otherwise love driving. I say it to deter people from treating their daily commute like it’s the last lap of the Daytona 500. 

You likely think of yourself as a better-than-average driver. This may be the case, but 73% of all other drivers would say the same thing about themselves, according to a Business Insider article.

If each person driving on Arkansas roadways drove like the threat of death meant something to them, people like me wouldn’t have to rely desperately on the concept of defensive driving. It’s easy to get angry on the road, I get it. However, acting on this anger is immature and brutish. 

Don’t let a car accident — or the death of another driver — be the catalyst for change.