How to Avoid Being Car Jacked
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Posted On :
May-06-2010
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Article Word Count :
863
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Carjacking is on the rise and you don't want to be the next victim. Not everybody in a vehicle is an easy target, so be sure you buffer up your protective skills to make yourself unattractive to violent criminals that prefer an easy hit. Although it's the vehicle that gets stolen, the real target is often the driver and opportunity for the crime.
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Carjacking is on the rise and you don't want to be the next victim. Not everybody in a vehicle is an easy target, so be sure you buffer up your protective skills to make yourself unattractive to violent criminals that prefer an easy hit. Although it's the vehicle that gets stolen, the real target is often the driver and opportunity for the crime.
1. Park in a well lit area as close to the store or building as possible. Although the commission of a carjacking can be fast and furious, you don't want to allow the perpetrator to have any excess time to approach and apprehend you. Vehicles parked in secluded areas give the attacker a few extra moments to scan the vicinity for witnesses and brace himself for a fight.
2. Have your keys out and the ready to go. Lingering at your vehicle as you dig for your keys, cell phone or a stick of gum is a dangerous trap if some one is watching you. Even if a threatening suspect is nowhere to be seen, it only takes a few seconds before he may spring out from behind a parked car and grab you. When it's time to get in your car, do it with purpose and speed.
3. Lock all doors immediately, regardless of the pleasant situation outside. One carjacking tactic is to approach from the passenger door once the driver is seated and take you away at gunpoint. The door lock needs to happen the moment the door clicks shut, before you are belted in or start the ignition.
4. Avoid parking next to vans with a sliding door. This stealth tactic is used to abduct a person or overtake a driver at the last second before the target vehicle is opened. Many vans have darkly tinted windows that conceal a suspect inside, so be sure to avoid a parking space next to the right side of a van if possible.
5. If you are in a parking structure, keep your gait at a strong and steady pace, paying careful attention to your surroundings. People who shuffle along, look at the ground, or chat on the phone have a bulls-eye on their back for the next carjacker. The jacker does not want confrontation and will often prey on those who appear to be less of a threat than others.
6. When you arrive home, be sure to close the garage door behind you as soon as you have pulled into the unit and after you have checked your rearview mirror for an intruder. If a carjacker really wants your particular vehicle, he may have stalked you to find out where you live. You may also wish to remove any trees or bushes that flank your garage door area, leaving a would-be criminal no privacy to hide.
7. If you are attacked and he threatens you to get into the car, don't do it. The moment of the carjacking is the primary crime scene, however, many homicides occur at the secondary location. The reason he wants you in the car is simple: he does not wish to fire his weapon in public and intends to kill his victim in secret. The carjacking victim is a witness to a serious crime, so be sure that he will not let you go if you get into that car. Sometimes, the victims are shot dead on sight, but if you get into the car with him, a horrifying nightmare will follow.
8. Traveling alone, regardless of gender, can put yourself on the carjacker hit list. In today's busy life, many of us have to travel alone to get a mountain of work and errands done, but if its possible to buddy-up, keep yourself strong with numbers.
9. People transporting children must never leave the child alone in the car, not even for a few minutes to load groceries into the trunk. A distracted mother is a sitting duck for criminal activity, so be sure you have your eye on the baby at all times. The jacker cares not what happens to an infant strapped into the car seat, and will take the vehicle with no remorse. The safest way to enter the car is to keep your child at your side until you are ready to get in and lock the doors.
10. In the world today, sometimes we have to throw our instinctive civility out the window. If someone approaches your car, on foot or in a vehicle, be very cautious about talking to strangers. It is not appropriate for a male to approach a female for directions or assistance; there's something fishy there. If a person was truly in distress and in need of help, he would find a police officer or go to a gas station for directions. A woman in high heels with groceries in her arms is taken for a target, not a good Samaritan. Ignore him, pretend you don't speak English, or go back into the store at once. If a stranger is shadowing you, you have to get out of there now.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_How to Avoid Being Car Jacked_18037.aspx
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Author Resource :
Joe Cline writes articles for west Austin real estate. Other articles written by the author related to Rollingwood real estate and Austin Texas real estate can be found on the net.
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Keywords :
Rollingwood real estate, Austin Texas real estate, west Austin real estate,
Category :
Society
:
Society
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