Iowa, This Traveling Hack Will Save You Money During The Holidays

Airline miles are great, but there's another, easier way to save money this holiday season.

When it comes to driving, there's a right way and a wrong way to get around. There's also a reason (many of them) I've never encouraged anyone to be like me. So here's the traveling hack I learned that could save you hundreds.

When You're Driving In The City

This particular hack really helps whenever you're not on the interstate or highway, and you're driving in an actually populated area. You need to watch out for a gadget called traffic cameras. If you're unfamiliar with them, they are evil little white devices that judge you harder than any of your relatives at Thanksgiving. They look like this:

Obviously, we all know traffic cameras all too well and we know they're judging your speed. I've been smacked with a speeding ticket thanks to them. So it's a great idea to pump the brakes a bit when you see one of those.

The Other Thing They Watch

We all know you shouldn't speed, defensive driving is good, etc. I'm a careful driver and I got two (two) red light violations for the intersection of Locust & Lincoln in Davenport (by the Locust Hy-Vee) because I apparently ran the red light. One of them, the light had been red for 0.17 seconds and the other one, it had been red for 0.58 seconds. (it may be a 0.68, it's blurry on the ticket)

And each of those is a $65 fine. 

They're both literally less than 1 second. Combined, even.

The holiday travel savings hack is to be nothing like me. Don't run red lights. Don't even think about it if it's yellow. That camera and the light can turn on you on a dime. If you have to ask yourself "Can I make it?" the answer is probably "nope". Do you even dare if it's green?? Especially in Davenport or wherever you see those 'red light enforced' signs.

You've been warned.