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A book about traffic and how we drive came out last month. In an effort to get some publicity, the publishing company sent copies to me and surely dozens of other transportation reporters around the country.

Titled simply, "Traffic," its subtitle is more of a teaser: "Why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us)."

Author Tom Vanderbilt explores the theory, psychology and sociology behind what many people do every day: get into the car, drive somewhere, and barely think about what's going on except where to make the next turn and whether the road ahead is congested.

The book is full of traffic-engineering theory from around the world — like the engineer in the Netherlands who says removing all traffic signs actually improves traffic.

And Vanderbilt answers many of the great questions facing today's drivers:

● "Why the other lane always seems to move faster."

● "Why you shouldn't drive with a beer-drinking, divorced driver." Something I'm sure we all do regularly.

● "Why women cause more congestion than men." I know! That one got my attention, too. The answer isn't what you think.

One Road Runner reader will get the chance to find out the answers, for free no less. Just keep reading to find out how.

Along the way, Vanderbilt also explains, "Why You're Not as Good a Driver as You Think You Are."

The problem is, humans learn from feedback, he says. But the very people we should get feedback from, drivers on the road with us, are incommunicado in their boxes of steel and glass and plastic.

Not to mention when you make someone angry in traffic, it's often the person behind you, with whom you will pretty much never make eye contact.

We all know it is a bad idea to drive while talking on the cell phone — although some of us won't admit it. Several states now have laws requiring hands-free devices if you're driving and using the cell phone.

But Vanderbilt says it doesn't matter. He cites studies showing whether you hold the phone or use an earpiece, you put the same amount of attention into talking, not driving.

Instead of looking all around, at their mirrors, other vehicles, street signs or the traffic light ahead, cell-phone drivers tend to stare straight ahead — their eyes are on the road, making them feel as if they're paying attention, but they're not checking in with all the things they'd otherwise be looking at.

The bottom line is, we think we're better drivers than we are, but we get no feedback on which to base our opinion.

What our driving says about us is, we are human.

Now comes the big question. What does Tucson traffic specifically say about Tucson drivers?

Send your answer, in 200 words or less, for a chance to win a copy of the book "Traffic."

The winner (selected by a panel of newspaper employees) will receive a new hardcover copy of the book, and have his or her answer featured in this column in two weeks.

Send your submission to the e-mail or snail-mail address below, but make sure it is e-mailed or postmarked by Sept. 14. Please include your full name and phone number (phone numbers will not be published, but they will be used to notify the winner).

Question: "Is it legal for construction tractors to drive down the public street with no brake lights, no taillights and no license plates, while driving 20 miles under the speed limit with just flashing their caution lights?" Paul Cragle wrote .

Answer: Two statutes regulate this kind of driving. One says this type of vehicle is exempt from registration requirements (ARS 28-2153D). The other statute (ARS 28-704) says a vehicle traveling so slowly as to "impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic" on a two-lane road should pull off the roadway, when safe, to allow the rest of traffic to pass.