Nothing will destroy your driveway faster than water damage.
Water finds a way to work itself into every nook and cranny, and even the most perfectly smooth asphalt driveways have a porous surface for water to weasel its way into.
A couple of rainstorms every now and again generally won’t cause that much damage on their own. But add in the fact that we are driving on our driveways all the time and parking heavy cars on them overnight and you have a combination of factors that are working to destroy your driveway pretty much around-the-clock.
By keeping on top of your driveway sealant maintenance (sealing your driveway every year to every three years or so) you block water from working into your driveway, causing cracks and fissures, and then making things worse when the water freezes in the winter and splits things even further.