For driving, just look where you're going. Seriously. You can see mines on the road and avoid them, and the small, fast buggy-type vehicles will outmanouver and outspeed tanks and apcs, so just keep moving and chances are you'll get by them alive. Also, although people on foot become insignificant ants to be squashed or ignore once in a tank or apc, its worth killing them if you can. Partly because that how to get points easily, and partly because some of the ants have big fuck-off anti-tank rockets that will kill you to death.
This. Especially the parts about the mines. Most people seem to drop one or two mines in the middle of the road and leave big enough spaces to just drive around them.
As for flying, I usually wait until being blown up before trying to release flares. This mostly doesn't work, but it's just as good as releasing them straight away and then getting blown up anyway.