As the holidays approach, it means streets will steadily fill with parcel-toting delivery trucks. And it’s the job of those behind the big vans’ steering wheels to get your gifts to far-flung friends and family members in one piece — and on time. The drivers' rigorous training arms them with knowhow that you, too, can employ while running your day-to-day errands. Read on if you want to shave minutes off your journey, use less petrol, or stay more alert among holiday traffic jams.

"Don't turn against traffic."

For example, if you live in a country that drives on the right and permits a right turn on a red light? Then that means avoiding left turns at all costs. Nearly all the sources contacted for this story offered this as a top road tip: If you have to make a turn against traffic, it slows you down as you wait for the others cars, that have right-of-way, to pass.

"You can continue your journey without as many stops" if you don't turn across thoroughfares, says Dan McMackin, a former driver and driver trainer and now PR manager for UPS. This ensures you save time, but that you're also driving more safely — the fewer lanes of traffic a delivery person needs to cross, the quicker and safer the journey.

Of course, knowing your neighbourhood like the back of your hand makes this easier.

"Know your streets and plan your route."

Knowing the lay of the land helps drivers deftly navigate their territory. 

"Most important: territory knowledge," says Cain Moodie, Senior Vice President of Network Operations at DHL Express US. That means "taking alternative routes to avoid peak traffic and understanding the habits of drivers around you." A level of familiarity arms you with that kind of knowledge, and lets you optimise drive paths, like avoiding turning against those high traffic thoroughfares.

If you're less familiar with your whereabouts? Millions of modern-day motorists consult navigation apps, and professional delivery people are no exception.

"Use apps."

Waze is the community-powered traffic navigation app that began as an Israeli startup in 2006. Now, it's one of the most popular driving aides for smartphone-using drivers. Users key in their destination address, and as they drive, the app forewarns them to upcoming traffic bottlenecks, any recent accidents, and other unpleasant surprises.

"One of the reasons Waze is able to identify solutions for such hyperlocal challenges is our relationship with local volunteers, map editors who update the map via desktop computer," says Julie Mossler, ‎Head of Brand and Global Marketing at Waze. "Waze manages traffic by historic and predictive algorithms and crunching real-time data from millions of drivers in a given city."

The service does this by pinging a motorist's GPS chip once every second, to asses the vehicle's speed and location. This ascertains whether a road is congested or more open at the moment. Traffic is calculated every three minutes, and using the crowdsourced data like road closures and accidents, motorists learn the best route to take.

App or no app, it's crucial to be hyper-aware of your surroundings.

"Scan constantly."

“We teach our drivers to move their eyes every three to five seconds," McMackin says. He says drivers are trained in a "triangular viewing motion": Look in your left mirror, look to the front (rearview) mirror, look to the right mirror, then back the front. "It makes it an active process as opposed to passive one," McMackin says. "People rarely use their mirrors for what they're designed for."

Make sure you see other people — and that they see you. Keeping their eyes peeled for quick-moving kids or runaway pet dogs or rolling baseballs spilling out from yards into their trajectory isn't enough for delivery people. These drivers are taught to make eye contact with pedestrians on the street. Even though someone is driving in a big van, they can't be sure pedestrians know they're coming unless they're making eye contact.

Another safety tip from delivery people? When you're behind a vehicle, don't keep your eyes on the actual vehicle, keep your eyes on the road in front of the vehicle. Know who and what are where at all times.

"Travel light. Keep your tyres in good shape."

McMackin at UPS says that UPS vans are inspected by mechanics every week to insure that the tyres are inflated properly. He says that over or underinflated tyres wastes petrol, as does having lots of stuff in the boot of your vehicle. The heavier your vehicle, the more fuel it uses, and the more you pay at the pump.

"Give yourself plenty of room between you and the car in front of you — more than you think."

I was taught that a three-second following distance was sufficient — meaning, it should take you at least three seconds to pass the same landmark that the vehicle in front of you passed. But professional delivery people give themselves an even bigger cushion. This is especially true for delivery people, whose vehicles are larger than most.

At UPS, which sees some 100,000 delivery people on roads every day, drivers are trained to give themselves eight to twelve seconds in between themselves and other motorists.