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Here is my ongoing list of driving tips that you may or may not think about, but can help you avoid being involved in a wreck, causing a wreck, or pissing me off. I will modify this, and expound over time, and maybe even include some diagrams. For now here is a quick list:

1. Get out of the left lane if you are not passing.
   If you are not passing anyone, then move over. There will always be someone who wants to go faster than you, there is no need to wait for that person to finally show up before moving over. Glance into your rear-view mirror every now and then. If there is a car behind you, then chances are they want to pass, so let them. If you are being passed on the right, then you REALLY need to get over. You are probably holding up a huge line of traffic, causing people to use the slow lanes for passing, which encourages lane slaloming and road rage. On the opposite side of the coin, you should allow slow drivers some time to get out of the fast lane. Passing only when you see that they really are intent on not moving over.
2. When turning left or right into a two lane street, stay in your lane.
   Am am going to assume you are not going to hit me. So don’t.
3. Try to maintain a constant speed at all times.
   Pick a speed and stick with it. Don’t speed up because I am passing you. If you see that you are going to have to slow down soon, then do not accelerate.
4. Do not apply brakes unless needed. Use your flex-space.
   Leave enough space between you and the next car for maneuvering. If the person ahead of you taps the brakes, it doesn’t mean you have to put on your brakes either. If you just let off the gas, your car will slow down. You will get closer to the car in front of you but the space you have should usually be enough to not apply brakes. Since you did not apply your brakes, the cars behind you will not reflexively apply their brakes either, improving traffic as a whole.
5. Look ahead for red lights, traffic, and other obstacles.
   Always be looking far ahead for signs of stoppage. If you see that you are going to have slow down or stop, then go ahead and let off the gas. By the time you get to the obstacle you will be a slower speed. Speeding up, knowing that you are just going to have to stop soon, is a loss of gas, brakes, and potentially a loss of control of the vehicle.
6. Put away distractions. Get off the phone.
   Many times I can tell if someone is on the phone just by observing their driving. Distractions cause the driver to be oblivious to their surroundings. So they usually end up driving too slow, in the wrong lane, and do not looking ahead for obstacles or for other drivers changing lanes.
7. Have good reaction time when the light turns green.
   When stopped at a red light, you can look at the intersecting street’s green light and watch for it to turn yellow. When it turns yellow, be prepared to go. Do not use the time to read the paper or get something out of your backseat or trunk. Even if you are not first in line at a red light, watch the red light anyways, and when it turns green, start to move. If everyone did this, we could avoid the domino-effect, and get moving quicker.
8. Stay behind the white line when stopping.
   Stopping beyond the white lane usually blocks the crossing or turning of intersecting traffic, which can really cause traffic to clog up. When you move beyond the white line you better be able to get through the intersection without clogging up traffic.
9. Pay attention to cars near you. Look for turn signals.
   If a car is along side you, pay attention to it because they may not see you. If they are in front of you and turn on their blinker, let your foot of the gas to let them over. If you have to put on your brakes, you are going to fast, so just pass them instead.
10. Don’t lane slalom.
    Swapping lanes all over the place gets you no where faster, and usually gets you stuck. Passing on the right is dangerous because no one is anticipating it.
11. Look over your shoulder when changing lanes.
    Yes, even your car has blind spots.
12. Get in the right lane/turn lane when you need to.
    Just because you are slow, doesn’t mean you should stay in the far right lane. Cars exiting or entering the highway must merge into the right lane, so get out of the way. You will have plenty of time to move over when you need to exit, there is no need to do it 5 miles before.
13. If you miss your exit, keep going. Do not stop or blindly dart across multiple lanes.
    There will be another exit in a mile or two, just get off further down and come back later. Slamming on the brakes or darting across 4 lanes of traffic will get you killed.
14. Pull off on the right side during emergency stops, not the left.
    The left side has a narrow shoulder and fast cars. Not a good combination. If you think your car is broken get off the road quickly. If a cop is pulling you over, don’t stop in the median, pull off the road into a gas station or something.
15. Look at a map before you go.
    Your driving ability increases greatly when you know where you are going. Before leaving, use Google Maps or some other mapping program to get a visual look at the route you are taking. So instead of just having road names, you will know that it is after a large bend, or after railroad tracks, or the third intersection, or in a shopping center, etc.
16. Get a car with yellow turn-signals, not red.
    Red turn signals look like brake lights, so I don’t know if you are turning or stopping. Yellow turn signals are standard on most non-American cars. I will come up with a list soon.
17. Don’t throw junk out of your vehicle.
    Don’t throw crap (windshield washer spray, trash, gravel, mud) out of you car. Really don’t throw crap out of your car when another car is behind you, including turning on your windshield washers.
18. Stay in your lane in stop-n-go traffic. Leave a gap.
    In gridlock, all the lanes are the same, so just pick one and stay with it. Swapping lanes actually slows you and everyone else down. Leave a hugegap between you and the car in front so you don’t have to ride your brakes, just chill and coast. Very few people will jump in front of you, and if they do, they will soon leave your lane for other mirages.
19. Park between the lines.
    Taking the extra brain-cycles to park straight will keep everyones car doors ding-free. And just because you have a new car doesn’t mean you get to make your own parking spot or use a handicapped spot. If I was handicapped and saw that, I would make you handicapped.
20. Watch the car in front of the car in front of you.
    Let’s call it “Car#2″. Do not trust the actions of the car in front of you. You should be reacting to Car#2. You will have quicker reaction time and can better understand the actions of the car in front of you.
21. Only get in the emergency lane if there is an emergency.
    Just because traffic is bad, and your exit is in 3 miles, doesn’t mean you can cruise down the shoulder/emergency lane. Then the emergency lane gets clogged, and you have to merge back in, which causes road rage, and blocks the real emergency vehicles from fixing the traffic problem.
22. Pay attention to reoccurring traffic patterns.
    If you drive the same roads every day, pay attention to where traffic gets congested, where dangerous conditions are, where cops setup speed traps, which lanes are faster, and where tourists get lost. Don’t be a sheep day after day. Use Google Maps to browse for different routes and short cuts to get past common trouble areas. You know the patterns, so you have an advantage over most other drivers out there.

Here is my ongoing list of driving tips that you may or may not think about, but can help you avoid being involved in a wreck, causing a wreck, or pissing me off. I will modify this, and expound over time, and maybe even include some diagrams. For now here is a quick list:

1. Get out of the left lane if you are not passing.
   If you are not passing anyone, then move over. There will always be someone who wants to go faster than you, there is no need to wait for that person to finally show up before moving over. Glance into your rear-view mirror every now and then. If there is a car behind you, then chances are they want to pass, so let them. If you are being passed on the right, then you REALLY need to get over. You are probably holding up a huge line of traffic, causing people to use the slow lanes for passing, which encourages lane slaloming and road rage. On the opposite side of the coin, you should allow slow drivers some time to get out of the fast lane. Passing only when you see that they really are intent on not moving over.
2. When turning left or right into a two lane street, stay in your lane.
   Am am going to assume you are not going to hit me. So don’t.
3. Try to maintain a constant speed at all times.
   Pick a speed and stick with it. Don’t speed up because I am passing you. If you see that you are going to have to slow down soon, then do not accelerate.
4. Do not apply brakes unless needed. Use your flex-space.
   Leave enough space between you and the next car for maneuvering. If the person ahead of you taps the brakes, it doesn’t mean you have to put on your brakes either. If you just let off the gas, your car will slow down. You will get closer to the car in front of you but the space you have should usually be enough to not apply brakes. Since you did not apply your brakes, the cars behind you will not reflexively apply their brakes either, improving traffic as a whole.
5. Look ahead for red lights, traffic, and other obstacles.
   Always be looking far ahead for signs of stoppage. If you see that you are going to have slow down or stop, then go ahead and let off the gas. By the time you get to the obstacle you will be a slower speed. Speeding up, knowing that you are just going to have to stop soon, is a loss of gas, brakes, and potentially a loss of control of the vehicle.
6. Put away distractions. Get off the phone.
   Many times I can tell if someone is on the phone just by observing their driving. Distractions cause the driver to be oblivious to their surroundings. So they usually end up driving too slow, in the wrong lane, and do not looking ahead for obstacles or for other drivers changing lanes.
7. Have good reaction time when the light turns green.
   When stopped at a red light, you can look at the intersecting street’s green light and watch for it to turn yellow. When it turns yellow, be prepared to go. Do not use the time to read the paper or get something out of your backseat or trunk. Even if you are not first in line at a red light, watch the red light anyways, and when it turns green, start to move. If everyone did this, we could avoid the domino-effect, and get moving quicker.
8. Stay behind the white line when stopping.
   Stopping beyond the white lane usually blocks the crossing or turning of intersecting traffic, which can really cause traffic to clog up. When you move beyond the white line you better be able to get through the intersection without clogging up traffic.
9. Pay attention to cars near you. Look for turn signals.
   If a car is along side you, pay attention to it because they may not see you. If they are in front of you and turn on their blinker, let your foot of the gas to let them over. If you have to put on your brakes, you are going to fast, so just pass them instead.
10. Don’t lane slalom.
    Swapping lanes all over the place gets you no where faster, and usually gets you stuck. Passing on the right is dangerous because no one is anticipating it.
11. Look over your shoulder when changing lanes.
    Yes, even your car has blind spots.
12. Get in the right lane/turn lane when you need to.
    Just because you are slow, doesn’t mean you should stay in the far right lane. Cars exiting or entering the highway must merge into the right lane, so get out of the way. You will have plenty of time to move over when you need to exit, there is no need to do it 5 miles before.
13. If you miss your exit, keep going. Do not stop or blindly dart across multiple lanes.
    There will be another exit in a mile or two, just get off further down and come back later. Slamming on the brakes or darting across 4 lanes of traffic will get you killed.
14. Pull off on the right side during emergency stops, not the left.
    The left side has a narrow shoulder and fast cars. Not a good combination. If you think your car is broken get off the road quickly. If a cop is pulling you over, don’t stop in the median, pull off the road into a gas station or something.
15. Look at a map before you go.
    Your driving ability increases greatly when you know where you are going. Before leaving, use Google Maps or some other mapping program to get a visual look at the route you are taking. So instead of just having road names, you will know that it is after a large bend, or after railroad tracks, or the third intersection, or in a shopping center, etc.
16. Get a car with yellow turn-signals, not red.
    Red turn signals look like brake lights, so I don’t know if you are turning or stopping. Yellow turn signals are standard on most non-American cars. I will come up with a list soon.
17. Don’t throw junk out of your vehicle.
    Don’t throw crap (windshield washer spray, trash, gravel, mud) out of you car. Really don’t throw crap out of your car when another car is behind you, including turning on your windshield washers.
18. Stay in your lane in stop-n-go traffic. Leave a gap.
    In gridlock, all the lanes are the same, so just pick one and stay with it. Swapping lanes actually slows you and everyone else down. Leave a hugegap between you and the car in front so you don’t have to ride your brakes, just chill and coast. Very few people will jump in front of you, and if they do, they will soon leave your lane for other mirages.
19. Park between the lines.
    Taking the extra brain-cycles to park straight will keep everyones car doors ding-free. And just because you have a new car doesn’t mean you get to make your own parking spot or use a handicapped spot. If I was handicapped and saw that, I would make you handicapped.
20. Watch the car in front of the car in front of you.
    Let’s call it “Car#2″. Do not trust the actions of the car in front of you. You should be reacting to Car#2. You will have quicker reaction time and can better understand the actions of the car in front of you.
21. Only get in the emergency lane if there is an emergency.
    Just because traffic is bad, and your exit is in 3 miles, doesn’t mean you can cruise down the shoulder/emergency lane. Then the emergency lane gets clogged, and you have to merge back in, which causes road rage, and blocks the real emergency vehicles from fixing the traffic problem.
22. Pay attention to reoccurring traffic patterns.
    If you drive the same roads every day, pay attention to where traffic gets congested, where dangerous conditions are, where cops setup speed traps, which lanes are faster, and where tourists get lost. Don’t be a sheep day after day. Use Google Maps to browse for different routes and short cuts to get past common trouble areas. You know the patterns, so you have an advantage over most other drivers out there.