I can’t count how many times I’ve almost gotten hit at an intersection.

Almost every time I get to the intersection of Garfield and 9th St., it’s as if I become invisible to other cars and they think they can go before me even though I was there first. It is extremely frustrating.

I typically pull up to the intersection from Garfield, and the ones who usually almost hit me are going south.

For some reason, they either just don’t see me or they don’t bother to look.

Usually, they just don’t bother to look. I understand that intersection has a complicated layout, but is it really so hard for people to look every direction before taking off? Are people really in that big of a hurry?

I’ve also almost been hit by people who neglect to stop at stop signs.

I’ll be driving and someone will pull up to a stop sign where I don’t have one and they will just keep going.

They don’t stop. They just slow down and then keep going without even looking for other cars, as if I’m supposed to slow down at intersections where I have no stop sign but other cars do. I don’t think so.

I honestly don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to just pay attention. It takes two seconds to look around you for other cars before taking off.

People who don’t take the time to look at their surroundings are just stupid.

I don’t care how late you are. I don’t care how important you think something is. It’s not as important as driving safely.

You endanger not only yourself, but every car around you when you don’t check your surroundings.

Suppose you pull out in an intersection without checking for other cars. If a car is coming, they most likely will slow down quickly so they don’t hit you.

If another car is behind them, they could get rear ended. It’s really selfish to not be considerate of other drivers.

I wish people would stop (literally) and think before endangering themselves and others. I guess they just don’t realize the severity of their actions.

Driving is a privilege, and people tend to forget that after they’ve had their license for an extended period of time.

They become too comfortable and start getting careless. They forget to look for other cars.

The fact that so many people around here don’t pay attention at intersections worries me for not only my sake, but for the sake of younger drivers who haven’t had much practice watching out for careless drivers.

I coach the high school dance team, and several kids recently got their licenses. I would be heartbroken if one of them was injured due to someone not paying attention.

Pay more attention at intersections. You are not the only person on the road, and you shouldn’t do anything to endanger other drivers.

Jessica Stewart is a junior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at jrstewart3@eiu.edu.