MY RULES FOR DRIVING

Everyone has their set of rules when they drive, and instincts that take over when they're riding on a set of rubber tires and pavement. As a person who loves to drive and prefers to reduce a drive from 30 minutes to 20, my set of mental rules are likely to differ from the next guy/girl. So here's a list of things I do when I'm out on the road, all of which I think can be done without breaking any laws.

Really, aside from finding a shorter road with less traffic or speeding, lane changing is probably the most effective way to reduce my driving time. Wisdom comes from knowing when to change lanes. The following rules guide my lane changing:

• Know the territory: Being familiar with where people often left turn, where there are left turn lanes, etc will often set the stage to which lane you want to be in.
  
  
• Get out of slower lanes: Obvious. If the lane beside you is going faster because someone is driving really slowly ahead of you, then change lanes.
  
  
• Understand other drivers: Watch drivers as they're driving, know what kind of people they are (young Asian males will most likely be speeders, middle-aged Asian males are slower, Asian female FOBs are slower, old folks are slow, etc), how they are changing lanes, and determine whether you'd want to be in their lane or not. Also an important factor to note is the make and model of cars - Acura RSXs, Integras, etc tend to speed, while Toyota Corollas won't.
  
  
• Use crosswalk signals: When approaching a green traffic light, look for crosswalk signals to determine whether the light may or may not change by the time you get there. You're safe if the little white WALK man is displayed.
  
  
• Prepare to Stop sometimes: If there is a "Prepare to Stop" sign flashing, and the traffic light ahead is green, decide based on your position w.r.t. the "Prepare to Stop" sign whether to slow down or not. If you are almost beneath the "Prepare to Stop" sign when it starts flashing, you're in the clear -- keep going. If you're within 10m of the sign when it starts flashing, speed up and you'll be in the clear.
  
  
• Approaching red lights 1: If I can be the first car in a lane at a red light, I'd rather be in that lane than in a lane with cars (even only one). I usually drive faster than other cars, so they'd just slow me down. Watch for merges ahead and determine whether you have enough time to get in front of the car beside you, or somewhere behind him. Again, knowing the capabilities of the first few cars next to you will give you a good idea of how fast you need to take off out of the gates when the light turns green.
  
  
• Approaching red lights 2: When approaching a red light, look at the traffic lights in perpendicular direction of traffic. If I'm the first car in my lane approaching a red light, I'll usually slow down much earlier, so I can observe the traffic signals. If I see the cross-traffic lights change to yellow, it means I won't need to bring my car to a full stop at my light. So I'll can start hitting the gas when their light turns red, generally meaning my light will be green by the time I cross the pedestrian crossing. Naturally, watch for pedestrians and left-turn signals for on-coming traffic.
  
  
• Approaching red lights 3: If there are cars in both/all lanes as you approach a red light, by default go with the one with fewer cars (and no left turners). However, if there aren't that many cars in either lane, go with the one that has the faster cars models, they'll likely hold you up the least.
  
  
• Trucks are slower than cars: By simply looking ahead, avoid being in lanes behind trucks. In general, the bigger the truck, the slower it moves. Rigs are usually the slowest in accelerating.
  
  
• Construction vehicles are slower than trucks: Construction vehicles with the thick grooved side panels are notoriously slow, especially when accelerating from stop or at low speeds. Avoid staying behind them at all costs, unless you need to make a turn very soon.
  
  
• Know your surroundings: This is a biggy, for safety also. If you know where cars are around you, you can easily change lanes in an instant if needed. In the same way, on the freeway, if you're in a left lane, know where the next space between cars in the right lane is in case you need to cut in, to exit the freeway for example.
  
  
• Know your car!: Also a huge one. You need to be familiar with the performance of your car and how quickly it will go when you want it to. There's nothing like trying to speed up to cut into another lane but not having the juice to do it -- and then you look stupid stuck behind a parked car.
  
  
• Know yourself!: Final big one. If you have no balls (girls can have balls in this context too), drive slow. If you can't handle driving fast or semi-aggressively, DON'T. It's okay to suck at driving. The rest of us will just weave around you. :)
  

Appendix A:

Scenario 1: There are two lanes, red light, the left lane has three cars followed by a left turner, and there are parked cars in the right lane after the light. I would pull into the right lane, but only slightly ahead of the left turner, not all the way up to the front of the right lane. When the light goes green, I'll stay beside the left turner, and change lanes as soon as I cross the intersection. There will likely be cars behind me. So if I go all the way up to the front of the right lane, and I start moving with the first car in the left lane when the light goes green, unless I can bullet in front of the car beside me, I'll probably get caught behind the parked car. The cars behind me will get to change lanes into the left lane behind me, and I'll be stuck there until all the cars behind me have changed lanes.

Scenario 2: You are approaching a red light. There is one car already stopped at the light, another car in front of you still moving, and no cars in the other lane. If the moving car changes lanes, I would to - even if both cars in front are the same make and model. By changing lanes, the moving car driver has displayed that s/he is eager to move along quicker, which means s/he won't hold me up if I'm behind him/her.

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So that's the end of my driving guide. I'm sure there are a lot of rules I abide by that I've forgotten, missed, or having consciously thought about. Likewise, there are exceptions to every rule. But that's the gist of it. I don't encourage speeding, nor dangerous driving, nor dragging.

So here's where your comments come in. What do YOU do when you drive?