Keep the Big Picture in mind.

You’re driving down the highway and, like the rest of us, you tend to focus on the deadlines we’re facing.  You have to be at (school/work/daycare/church/court/home/your date/etc.) in ten minutes.  Don’t those idiots on the road know you’re in a hurry?  You’re trying to drive defensively, but then one of them cuts into the space you’ve left as a cushion between you and the next car.  Or someone ahead is poking and you can’t safely or legally pass them.  You’re tempted not only to quit leaving so much space and driving defensively, but also to give that dweeb a piece of your mind, either with your horn or maybe even with a crude hand gesture.  (I know, shame on me for even thinking you might do that.  But some of you would, now wouldn’t you?)  So what do you do?

I say, look at the big picture.  When they cut you off or poke in traffic, they cost you a few seconds.  Maybe a minute when you combine several such situations.  How does that compare with a possible lifetime of pain?  For that matter, how does it even compare with having to hire a car accident attorney to help you collect for your damaged car and damaged body?  How does it compare with having your kids visit you in the hospital?  Or having your spouse worry when he or she gets the phone call saying you’ve been in a car accident?  When you think of the alternatives, saving that minute just doesn’t stack up, does it?

Oh, I know you’re thinking, “But I probably wouldn’t be in an accident anyway.”  And you’re probably right.  But over the long haul, by watching out and planning for the stupid things other drivers do, and driving defensively, you will avoid some accidents.  Maybe only one out of a thousand times, but isn’t that worth it?  In a thousand such trips, maybe you lose a thousand minutes.  That’s less than 17 hours, or about two shifts of work.  Still a pretty cheap price to pay to greatly reduce your chance of needing an injury attorney and spending the rest of your life in pain.