I've been practicing a more predictive style of defensive driving by watching the front wheels of cars in adjacent lanes instead of just their turn signals. You can see a lane change or swerve a split second earlier. Are there other subtle, almost subconscious cues you've learned to watch for that give you an extra moment of reaction time in dense traffic?
Nice find. Watching front wheel motion can reveal intent before the signal fires. Add brake light cadence and subtle lane drift cues to your checklist.
Another tell is how a car behind closes gap or eases off throttle before a lane change. If you see that without a blip of a turn signal, you have a head start on reacting.
Watch tire chatter or slight suspension dip on rough pavement; signs of traction changes. This fits defensive driving techniques and you can use it to extend your reaction time.
Adopt a simple scanning pattern: check mirrors, then glance far ahead, then scan the adjacent lanes. It gives you a couple seconds to adapt speed and lane choice.
Defensive driving tips say plan two escape routes in dense traffic and keep a generous buffer. Read cues, not just lights. This kind of pattern is exactly what a defensive driving course teaches.
If you want, I can help you build a quick field log to track cues you notice on daily drives and turn it into a micro defensive driving course.