How to Drive in Traffic

Video Transcript

"Okay, now I'm going to talk about driving in traffic. Very often, if you're on a freeway you're going to encounter pretty heavy amounts of traffic. We've got a fair amount of traffic out here today, and the main thing to keep in mind when driving in traffic is to keep your eye out for who's in front of ya', who's behind ya', and who's on either side of ya'. Be aware of traffic that is approaching you on your right or your left, so that if you decide that you need to change lanes you already know they're there before you even look in your mirror. And then you can double check, and after they've passed you you can swing over a lane, and then you know, double check all your mirrors, and be aware, again, of who's in front of ya', who's behind ya', who's on your right, and who's on your left. And I'd also like to talk about the the carpool lane. A lot of metropolitan areas they have these carpool lanes which are reserved for certain types of vehicles. Here in Phoenix, we've, our carpool lane restrictions are that you must have at least two people in the car, and or, or if you have a a vehicle which runs off compressed natural gas or off propane you're also allowed to use these lanes, and they're they're pretty much just like any other lane on the freeway, except that a lot of times there's a little bit less traffic because there's a lot of people commutin' back and forth to work that are drivin' by themselves, and so they can't use these lanes. So, if you look in front of us here you'll see I've got you know, a good five hundred yards in front of me that's pretty clear; whereas, the lanes on the right are a little more packed with traffic and it'd be a little bit harder to get around in there; whereas, I can just stay in this lane and go all the way into town where I'm goin', so... And if you're, if you find yourself in the left hand lane, in maybe a carpool lane, and you're movin' pretty fast; faster than the traffic on your right, you really need to keep an eye out for the people that are in the lane on your right, because you know, sometimes people will pull over at the last minute without checkin' their mirror. They're not aware that you're there. Just like when you're watching your mirrors for traffic approachin' you they might not be doin' that, so they might just whip out right in front of ya, and you need to keep an eye on that traffic to make sure that you don't get in an accident because of that. A lot of times, you know, people will turn on their blinkers to let you know that they're going to move over, and then you could be courteous and and slow down and let them move over. But a lot of times people don't use blinkers and and that's why you gotta' keep an eye on em', and if you you see em' kind of movin' over, gettin' up next to the the dividing line between the lanes you can be pretty sure that they're thinkin' about movin' over cause' they're probably moving over to the line so that they can check their mirrors and see if anyone's comin'. If you're driving along the road and you happen to see an emergency vehicle stopped alongside the road it is courteous, and in some places required by law that you move over a lane to give them room if you are able. I was not able there cause' there was a a car to my left. Same thing goes for other stopped vehicles. It's just a courtesy to move out of the way, clear that right lane so that they have a little bit more room to move around, and they aren't in danger of being hit by traffic."