I'm one of those that learned the hard way.
I was overconfident, thinking myself a great driver and everyone else was an asshole.
I had an SUV at the time, heading to work after stopping for coffee and driving the quiet back streets downtown. It was a route I knew without thinking but, somehow, that morning my mind was elsewhere. I was driving along and recall looking to my left, suddenly spotting a car inches from my door. In that millisecond before impact, I looked ahead and realized I'd run the stop sign. The impact sent the SUV flying across, hitting the curb ahead, rolling over and spinning on the roof and after spinning down the block and hitting the opposite curb, landing on its "feet". State Farm bought me a brand new car; it was totalled.
I was lucky to have survived and even luckier that my daughters had declined on this "bring your kid to work day" three years ago. The impact hit closer to the back seat where the girls would have been and they would have been seriously injured, if they had survived the impact. This was one of those times I thought about God.
The two women in the other vehicle were fine.
I still consider myself a good driver. But I'm no longer cocky and don't take anything for granted. If I'm unable to focus, I pull over and take a deep breath or take a nap.
All it takes is one person who's not completely focused. One cocky, selfish, sleep-deprived driver can really spoil someone's day.
Now, I'm not scared but I'm wary. I've become a very defensive driver, looking for people like I was.
You don't have to be drunk or high to mess with others' lives.