What do you do when driving and the traffic lights turn yellow? Before I share my approach, this post is designed to illustrate the usefulness of pre-determined rules for certain situations.
Effective decision-making is an important skill to develop, but it won’t serve you when you need to take immediate action.
If you are continually experiencing a split-second moment where the outcomes and actions are well defined, you should be able to consider a rule that best serves you in those moments.
So back to the traffic lights. When you’re approaching an intersection and the lights turn yellow, you have three options – accelerate, keep going at the same pace, or brake.
Some people are conditioned to accelerate into a yellow light, but doing so may increase the chances of a negative outcome.
The opposite could be just as dangerous. If you brake into a yellow light, then you risk being hit from the car behind if they choose to accelerate.
You may think my answer is “keep going at the same pace”, but depending on how far you are away from the lights, it could mean you run a red.
So what’s my rule with yellow lights?
Don’t accelerate.
Once I take my foot off the accelerator, I then have the space to consider if it’s better to brake or keep going.
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