Safety Awareness
In honor of the 3rd year since my sister’s passing, I’m sharing some safety awareness tips to protect yourself when alone in public.
Check your cars lock settings
Most modern cars have the ability to change the controls over your lock button. For example, my car only unlocks the driver side door when I click my keys. One click unlocks my drivers side, two unlocks both front doors, and three unlocks all doors. This helps avoid anyone slipping into my passenger or back seat without me knowing.
Check your back seat before getting in the car
Always check around and under your car while approaching it, and once you’ve confirmed its perimeter is safe, turn your flashlight on your phone to shine into your back seat before unlocking your car. This prevents you ever encountering someone who may be hiding in the back seat, waiting for you to turn the car on and start driving before forcing you to drive where they say. I also run my arm along my backseat floorboards once I’m in the car just to be safe.
Lock your car from the inside before you ever sit down in it
What I mean is, once I’ve confirmed my car is safe and secure to enter, and I’ve opened my drivers door, I lock the car from the inside control before I ever sit down and close the door. This ensures that as soon as I’m sitting down with the door shut, that I am completely secure and safe. I do this as a passenger in other people’s cars as well, and if I’m riding in the back seat, I remind the driver to lock the doors upon entering.
Don’t sit in your car for long periods of time
If you must enter an address into your phone, do so quickly after making sure your car is locked. I do this with my car running and the gear switched to “drive” just in case any danger arises, I’m able to quickly pull away without messing around with the gears.
Take a self defense class regularly
I have taken many self defense classes over the years, and am so amazed every time I take one, how much I’ve forgotten or learned something new in the class. Fitness kickboxing is also a great way to practice your strikes and resembles a traditional workout class, while still empowering your abilities to fight back.
Power in numbers
Everyone has probably been told to travel in a group, but it really has been proven that you are less likely at risk of being a target by an offender when there is multiple people traveling together. There was even a published article with responses from violent criminals serving time for their assaults, and they said they would never attack two girls who were together.
Give them what they want
If you find yourself in a situation where an attacker is coming after you for a purse, wallet, or anything else tangible, throw it far away from you and run in the other direction. More times than not, attacks are over money and other materialistic items, and when you throw them away from you, the attacker becomes preoccupied with retrieving them, rather than chasing you down.
Don’t let your gas go below 50 miles
In the case that you are driving at night and feel a car following you, but you’re far from your destination, you don’t want to run out of gas on the side of a dark road and be a target for a sketchy car to come upon. Driving with enough gas in your tank to be able to detour away from whomever is making you uncomfortable and reach safety is the real goal. You can also call 911 and report your concerns and they will dispatch someone to come help you reach safety. I have also heard if you are driving late at night and you see police lights, but have a strange feeling, keep driving and call 911. They can confirm if its an officer or not.
Pumping gas
Avoid getting gas at night at all costs. When pumping gas, I crack the drivers side door, but lock all the doors with the main lock button in my car. Again, when reentering your car, confirm the back seat is empty and no one has slipped into your passenger seat, but as long as your doors were locked this will prevent that from occurring.
The main goal is to never be a target for an attacker to look twice at. While there is so much more to learn about protecting yourself, these tips at least take precautions to hopefully never fall victim and having to fight back.
Written in honor of Reagan Delaney Tokes
Visit the memorial foundation donating scholarships in her honor at: http://rdtmf.com
