Why I Hate Driving.

I almost died today. Seriously. I was driving home from work, listening to Drink In My Hand by Eric Church when I stopped at a red light. I was on a six lane, a main drag through the city, one I take everyday. I had all my windows down, and my sunroof open. I had my left arm hanging out the window and was singing along to my future husband. The speed limit on this particular road is 40, but everybody is usually coasting by at around 50/55 mph. This is a long light, and I have no patience or attention span so I look over at the person in the car beside me. Old woman, staring straight forward. Probably retired. Probably somebody's grandmother. Nothing too exciting. I look at the truck in front of me. The license plate shows they are from in state, boring. I always look for out of state plates, I have since I was a kid, and then make up stories as to why they are here. Are they just passing through? Do they really live here? How long was their drive? How much further do they have? You get the idea. But once again, nothing too exciting. So then I look in my rearview mirror. A semi. Only seeing this wasn't a boring run of the mill sight. This guy is still coming full throttle ahead. The only thing between me and this fast moving heavy semi is a couple hundred feet. I can't take my eyes off my rearview mirror. I can't move. I'm sitting there, frozen. This guy is going to smash into my back end, going 50 while I'm stopped. I'm going to be smashed to death in between a semi and this pickup truck. I'm scared out of my mind. Hurry and turn green, light. Please. Closer. COME ON, TURN GREEN ALREADY!! Closer, and closer. He's not slowing. How does this guy not see the string of cars all stopped at this stoplight?! I look around for somewhere to go. I'm in the far right lane, there's about four vehicles ahead of me and a string to my side. On the other side, the curb. I have nowhere to go. I am going to die. Do I jump out of the car? What the hell do you do? The driver must have finally snapped back into reality because next thing I knew the truck wasn't heading for me anymore. He vearing slightly off to the right. The light turns green, about time. The cars in front of me start moving. The semi behind me ends up jumping the curb to our right and flying forward until he finally comes to a complete stop in the intersection where we were stopped. That's a distance of five cars I'd like to point out. It was probably the scariest 10 seconds of my life. The fastest 10 seconds of my life. What do I do? I only have 10 seconds left to live. Why isn't that semi driver paying attention to me?! It was the slowest 10 seconds of my life. The light was taking forever to change. What are we waiting for? How long have I been sitting here? Why isn't it green? It was a scary situation. You have to trust every single other person on the road. It doesn't matter I check my mirrors religiously. It doesn't matter I always use my turning signals and try to always pass on the right. It doesn't matter I refuse to text or talk on the phone when I drive. What matters is everybody else on the road. It's putting your life in everybody else on the road's hands. It's scary when you really think about it. Reminds me why I used to pretty much have a panic attack anytime I had to drive. So stop driving like assholes. All it takes is a few seconds of not paying attention and it's all over.  I think my guardian angel deserves a very special "Thank You" today. She sure was looking out for me today. Also, I love you all.