There are many factors that affect how long your brake pads last. First and foremost, if you don't have the right brake pads for your driving style, they will wear down much faster than they should and leave you in a dangerous driving situation.
Going off of that, having an aggressive driving style can also affect your brake pads. If you slam on your brakes a lot rather than easing to a halt, your brake pads will brake down much sooner than the 50,000-mile mark.
Spending a lot of time in stop-and-go traffic can also be a big factor in the wearing down of your brake pads over time. Stop-and-go traffic requites bursts of speeding up and then automatically braking when traffic ahead of you gets jammed again.
Luckily, all of these things are easily avoidable if you're conscious of your driving habits and make an effort to preserve your brake pads. Taking good care of your brake pads is essential when it comes to keeping you and your passengers safe while you're driving.