Alex’s Guide to Driving Safely and Efficiently in the Modern World
I don't make the rules. I just mind the speed limit.
Driving lessons…from this guy? Why listen to me?
Because I rack up roughly 35,000 commuter miles a year—about 2½ times the national average—and I still keep my Safe-Driver discount intact. My four-day-a-week, 160-plus-mile slog across three interstates, two state highways, and one county road has turned me into a reluctant roads scholar.
Here’s what thousands of hours behind the wheel (and more than a few forehead-slaps at other drivers) have taught me.
1. Know Your Numbers, Then Game the Routes
Benchmark your commute. I rotate among three options suggested by my map app. One is reliably average, one swings 10–15 minutes depending on traffic, and one’s a Hail Mary I only use when the rest fall apart.
Let the GPS talk—but keep thinking. Real-time apps are great, but they don’t always know about local detours, school zones on game nights, or that cursed intersection after 4 p.m.
Leave early, buy serenity. A 10-minute head start can shave 20 off the back end. You’d be shocked how much misery you can avoid by beating the vans, buses, and indecisive left-turners out of your neighborhood.
2. Humans: The Ultimate Variable
Smartphones made navigation easier and collisions more likely. In 2023, 3,275 people were killed and over 324,000 injured in distraction-related crashes1. We know it’s dangerous—93% of drivers say so—yet over a third admit they still do it2.
I was rear-ended on I-29 because the guy behind me was looking down (saw him in my rear-view mirror as I braced for impact), and probably not looking at his lap for leisure.
I see it constantly: phones held aloft, chins down, brains elsewhere.
Meanwhile, I’m constantly scanning my mirrors and reading the road like a novel I’ve already half-memorized.
I don’t take any of this lightly. Earlier this year, my father died from complications related to injuries sustained in a car accident caused by a distracted driver. I don’t dwell on it here to bring things down; I bring it up because it’s real.
One careless glance at a phone can change someone else’s life forever. It changed mine.
Here are a few driving strategies I swear by:
Mirror sweep every 10 seconds. Like breathing, it keeps you alive.
Escape the pack. Traffic clumps multiply risk. Open space gives you options.
Defuse tailgaters. I slow down. Not to antagonize (okay, maybe a little)—but to signal that aggression won’t make me evaporate.
Profile cars, not people. Around here, Dodge Chargers and spotless $60K pickup bro-dozers (why have a truck that costs almost as much as a house if you are not going to haul anything?) tend to come with an extra helping of testosterone. I let them roar off elsewhere. Darwinism tends to come into play with these folks anyway.
On Road Rage: Keep Your Cool or Pay the Toll
Most people aren’t raging at you—they’re raging at their day. You just happen to be in the way. Don’t take it personally, even when it feels personal.
Responding to aggression with aggression never ends well. You won’t “win.” You’ll just raise your blood pressure and possibly land on someone’s dash cam.
You can’t fix someone else’s ego with your brake pedal. Let them pass, let it go, and enjoy knowing you’ll get home with your dignity—and insurance premium—intact.
If you're being tailgated, don't escalate. Ease off, signal, move over. It’s not about being "right"—it’s about being alive.
Road rage is a fight you agreed to by accident. No one leaves one of those encounters thinking, “That made my day better.”
Practice the three-second rule, for space and for sanity. Give yourself time to breathe before reacting to anyone acting like they own the interstate.
3. Defensive Driving = Efficient Driving
Safety habits double as fuel-saving, battery-preserving habits. Here's how:
Smooth acceleration and braking – Reduces rear-end risk and saves up to 30% in fuel or charge3.
Maintain tire pressure and alignment – Better control, and up to 3% better mileage4.
Lighten the load – Rooftop boxes and junk in the trunk can cost you 1% per 100 lbs5.
Cruise control (when safe) – keeps you out of speed trap territory and keeps EVs in their energy sweet spot.
Hands-free driving – Nope, nope, nope. Call me old-fashioned, but I saw what AI did to Frank Poole. Just do not trust it on the road yet.
Since I drive a Ford Mustang Mach-E—a blisteringly fast EV disguised as a responsible adult’s car—I’d be remiss if I didn’t add a few electric-specific tricks that help me stretch range and sanity across my 160-mile-a-day commute:
Precondition while plugged in. On cold mornings, I warm the cabin and battery before I unplug. It keeps me comfortable and preserves range for the road.
One-pedal driving is a superpower. I use “B” mode in traffic to harvest energy, but switch to coasting on the highway when it makes sense. Range conservation is an art.
Climate discipline matters. I’ll take heated seats and a warm steering wheel over full cabin heat any day—it’s cozy and efficient.
Avoid the fast-charge trap. Level 2 at home is the way. I only use DC fast charging on long trips—frequent use can degrade battery health faster than necessary.
Charge from 20% to 80% when possible. That’s the sweet spot for battery longevity.
Ignore the fantasy range numbers. EPA says 270 miles? Cool. In the real world—interstates, weather, audio, climate—I plan on 225 and I’m rarely disappointed. (Check out my midwinter long-distance journey journal here.)
Know your charging stops. PlugShare, ChargePoint, and ABRP keep me sane. And yes, I do avoid sketchy gas station chargers unless it’s an emergency.
Respect your instant torque. I can blow past an aggressive pickup with barely a whisper, but I try to use that power for getting out of trouble, not into it. But man, the bro-dozers deserve it when I get tired of their bullying and insipid rolling-coal antics.
Don’t Be That Guy
There’s always that guy on the road. Let’s make sure it’s not you.
Don’t camp in the left lane. It’s not a retirement home. It’s the passing lane. Use it, then lose it.
Don’t tailgate like your job depends on it. It won’t make me go faster—and it might make me go slower.
Don’t flash your brights to assert dominance. This isn’t a moose mating ritual.
Don’t throw trash out the window. You’re not in a 1982 Burger King commercial.
Don’t do TikTok while driving. Or Zoom. Or scroll. Or any other thing that sounds like a tech startup.
Don’t brake check unless you really want to be YouTube famous.
Don’t pass on the shoulder. That’s not just illegal—it’s how you end up in a ditch and a group text.
Don’t blast bass at a stoplight like it’s still Spring Break '99. Some of us have coffee cups and eardrums to protect. (And you sound every bit as thoughtless as you look.)
Driving is a shared activity. You’re not just getting from A to B—you’re part of a barely organized rolling community.
Let’s keep it civil.
4. Soundtrack & Silence: What Goes in Your Ears Matters as Much as What’s on the Road
Audiobooks
Perfect for longer stretches—just make sure the narrator’s not a whisperer or prone to jumps in volume. I lean toward fiction with strong pacing, memoirs read by the author, and occasional treatises on society, culture, and why people drive so much.
Podcasts
My default. I’m a huge Prof G Show fan—Scott Galloway’s blunt business wisdom and cranky dad energy hit the sweet spot. He does like four different shows as of this writing.
As a recovering political junkie, I’ve cut about 90% of the news analysis (and sorry Scott, but Raging Moderates is the one show you do I’m not listening to. I may often agree with you, but your political takes are not really why I listen to you) shows from my feed. Most are engineered to inflame, not inform.
Constant exposure to adversarial news correlates with higher anxiety and stress7.
Music—preferably at sing-along volume
I listen to everything from Asia to Ziggy Marley, with heavy doses of Springsteen, Lyle Lovett, Sting, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Colin Hay, Keane, David Bowie, The Police, Fastball, Shawn Colvin, Peter Gabriel, Crowded House, Aimee Mann and The Beatles.
No passengers = no judgment. I sing like I’m getting paid. And I’m not just whistling Dixie—studies show singing reduces cortisol and boosts your mood 8. Call it highway karaoke therapy.
Silence, strategically applied
Two or three minutes of quiet road noise and no talking heads? Magical. Silence helps reset the brain. Research shows it can reduce stress hormones and even stimulate new brain cell growth9. It’s not meditation—you’re still driving—but it’s a mental palate cleanser. Quiet isn’t empty. It’s restorative.
5. Outsmart the Environment (and the Law)
Weather check = mindset check. Storms affect traffic, traction and your energy use. Plan accordingly.
Deer hours are real. Dawn and dusk = four-legged missiles. Watch the shoulders.
Speed traps exist. Use crowd-sourced apps if you must, but the surest strategy is still driving like someone’s watching. Because someone probably is.
Lights in the Mirror: Dealing with Cops, Speed Traps, and Pullovers
We all have that moment when we see flashing lights in the rearview and feel our stomach drop—even when we’ve done nothing wrong. Here’s how I handle it (and avoid it in the first place):
Know the hot zones. Certain stretches of highway are habitual speed trap territory. Learn where local departments set up shop—and don’t test fate. Apps like Waze or PlugShare (for EV folks) can help, but your own memory is your best cop radar.
Be boring. Flashy lane changes, inconsistent speeds, and bumper-hugging draw attention. I drive like I don’t want to be noticed—because I don’t.
When you do get pulled over:
Signal and pull over safely. Turn off your music and, if it's dark, turn on your dome light.
Stay still. Hands on the wheel. No reaching for your wallet until asked.
Be polite. Not obsequious, just calm. You’re not there to win an argument—you’re there to minimize escalation.
Let them talk first. Don’t narrate or explain unless prompted. “Yes, officer” and “Understood” work wonders.
Don’t argue on the roadside. That’s what court is for—if it comes to that. Spoiler: it usually doesn’t.
Know your rights—but know your setting. You have the right to remain silent, refuse a vehicle search (unless they have probable cause), and ask if you're free to leave. Just remember: asserting your rights works best when it’s done calmly, not confrontationally.
Bonus for EV drivers: Some officers are curious about your car. I’ve had a couple ask about range or charging. Answer the questions; they’re human. Respect often gets returned.
Getting pulled over isn’t fun, but it doesn’t have to be dramatic. A few steady choices can de-escalate even tense stops—and get you back on the road faster (with or without a warning).
6. A Few Parting Mindsets
Assume invisibility. Especially to the texting driver behind you.
Gamify your commute. Can you safely shave off five minutes? Cool. Make it a strategy game, not a demolition derby.
Protect the discount like cash. Every clean year keeps my insurance bill down—proof that defensive driving isn’t just safer; it’s cheaper.
Control what you can. Choose your lane, your playlist, your attitude. Everything else is outside your wheelhouse—literally.
I’ll keep logging absurd mileage until my daughter graduates from high school. Until then, this is how I get from Point A to Point B with my sanity, car, and insurance premium intact.
If you have a favorite podcast, playlist, or driving tip I missed, please drop me a line right here on Substack—or leave a voice memo for PR After Hours.
See you in the passing lane (but only briefly—I don’t hang out there).
Sources
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "Distracted Driving 2023 Overview."
🔗 https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-drivingAAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "2023 Traffic Safety Culture Index."
🔗 https://aaafoundation.org/2023-traffic-safety-culture-index/U.S. Department of Energy, FuelEconomy.gov. “Driving More Efficiently.”
🔗 https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jspU.S. Department of Energy, FuelEconomy.gov. “Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated.”
🔗 https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.jspEdmunds. “Fuel-Saving Tips: How to Drive Smart and Save Money.”
🔗 https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/fuel-saving-tips.htmlAmerican Psychological Association. “Stress in America: The State of Our Nation.”
🔗 https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/state-nation.pdfFrontiers in Psychology. “Singing Modulates Mood, Stress, Cortisol, and Cytokine Response.”
🔗 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00437/fullDuke University Medical Center. “The Effects of Silence on the Brain.” (Summarized via NCBI)
🔗 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5472417/