This was an image grab from an in-car video camera that caught a smash-and-grab robbery in progress, caught in KL. A black Perodua Myvi was stopping in traffic when two men on a motorbike rode up alongside, smashed the passenger side windows and grabbed what appears to be a handbag. It could happen to anybody, in any country be it women with their handbags or men with their laptop bags or iPads etc etc. While the title may suggest the content below is aimed at females, but crime does not recognize gender and everything that is mentioned below is applicable to both male or female motorists. However women drivers do tend be singled out more often and thus we hope the tips below will help our mothers, wives, daughters and female friends to be more vigilant.
1. Keeping of handbags
Handbags should always be kept away from sight. At the floor, preferably underneath the dashboard or under the seats. However we also know that women are not likely to put their Coach Leatherwares on the dirty floor mat. So your next best option is to wedge them between the front seats of your car. However some cars do have utility trays under the front passenger seats. So make use of them. Certain cars are also more female friendly than others. The Nissan Latio (Tiida / Versa in some markets) has one of the largest glove box around, 12.8-liters big, even bigger than many higher end cars.
While the Nissan Sylphy has its handbrake repositioned to the foot well, so it is now foot operated rather than hand operated like most cars. The advantage is that this frees up space in the center console, which now houses a utility box than fit small handbags.
However looking at the size of handbags women carry these days, I think the best option is still to wedge them between the seats.
2. Invest in a security tint
At the mention of window tinting, most people will think of solar tinting, which reduces solar radiation from entering the cabin. There is however another type of tinting which many consumers are still unaware of - security / safety tint. On top of functioning as solar tints, these tinting films also doubles as a security protection preventing the windows from shattering easily. These window films hold the window in tact and significantly increases the effort and time required to break them. Of course they are not exactly shatter proof. All security features, be it bank vault or a car works on the underlying principle of increasing the "effort vs reward for the risk." They just give less reason for robbers to keep trying and more reason to abandon the break in attempt. There are various brands out there offering such solutions, but with varying level of performance so shop around wisely. 3M, LLumar and V-Kool are the usual trusted brands used by car manufacturers. The benefits of a security tint cannot be more evident than in the smash-and-grab video below that has been circulating around Youtube and Facebook. Chances are two or three failed attempts to smash the glass, they would have fled.
3. When driving back to into your house
a) Always park in reverse
Look at the CCTV grab below. Had the car was reversed into the house rather than driven in forward, the driver would have been alerted earlier.
By reversing your car in, you are in a better position to react to an ambush and you are looking at the direction of entry. Should any attempt be made to rob you, you can speed off. Run down the doors and these scumbags too if necessary. You can always plead your case in self defense later! At least you live to fight another day. Dark jokes aside, we are serious about parking in reverse. Readers who work in high risk occupations or industries will know that organizations with strict health and safety regulation require all their company vehicles within their compound to be reversed into a parking spot. This aids quicker escape in the event of an evacuation or emergency. Even down south in Singapore, almost all cars are parked in reverse.
b) Alert to your home surrounding
If you live in an area where there are shrubs or trees or even large uncovered drains outside your house where men can hide in it, it is a good practice to flash your high beams and take notice of any unusual shadows, before driving into your house. Also look out vehicles that are not common around your housing block, especially motorbikes which is easy to miss them.
c) Shutting down your engine / Unlocking the gate
An automatic electric gate is not a convenience feature, but a safety item in these time and age. After reversing into your house, always keep your lights on and engine running and only get out of your vehicle after the electric gate closes. Of course, your vehicle is now facing forward, out into the driveway, for reasons mentioned earlier. Do the reverse when driving out. Only unlock the gates once you are inside the vehicle with the doors locked. These are very simply logical things to do but for most of us don't think much about it and do any of the above in a random order.
4. In a car park complex
a) Walking to your car
You are alone, leaving your work place or a shopping mall late at night. Again, be alert of unusual things. If this is your daily routine, especially in your work place, you ought to know what are the familiar cars that always park in that area. If you don't well maybe you should! Be on the look out for commercial vans or MPVs with sliding doors, as well as large SUVs. These is because sliding doors and large vehicles like an SUV has a wide door opening area and make it easy to force a small vulnerable women into the vehicle. If you spot anything suspicious, take an unusual direction, like entering your vehicle from the passenger side, make use of obstacles around you like keeping yourself between cars (allows you to play catch-me-if-you-can-merry-go-around with an attacker, do not underestimate the advantage of an obstacle), or go back to your office block / shopping mall to call for security. It is better to be paranoid than to be sorry.
b) Have your keys in hand
Do not fumble for your key only when you reach the car. Take out your car keys well in advance, before you enter the parking area, and hold them firmly.
In every car key is a panic button, usually marked in red. It sounds the car alarm when pressed. Usually, this button is used to locate your car if you forgot where you park them. But you should also be ready to use this to attract attention. Try it a few times and be familiar with the distance from the vehicle for this function to work. If there are suspicious individuals or cars around your vehicle, hit the panic button to draw attention. A key can also be a weapon, which is why we said you should hold it firmly. If grabbed from behind, use it to jab the attacker, as hard as you can. Hard as if your life depends on it and fight yourself free. Aim for weak areas like the neck, eyes.
5. When driving
a) Do not stop for anything suspicious
I have a friend who went for an offensive (yes offensive, not defensive) driving training course by his company to prepare him for a job in a high crime country. The most memorable thing he told me was, if you are coming down a stretch of road, an old lady or even a women with a baby pram starts coming out in front of you, blow your horns and floor the throttle and get away fast. If you see a garbage can rolling out, floor the throttle! Do not ever ever stop! Run into them if you have to. The moment you stop is when you are going to have guns pointed at you. He was not thought to be reckless, but to think logically. Anyone with a baby pram don't get off a kerb and walk out into the direct path of an SUV barreling down the road.
While I doubt our country have reached that stage, but there are some tips worth sharing out. The most common modus operandi of car-jacks or kidnaps is for either men on a motorcycle riding alongside you and flagging you to stop while pointing at your wheels, as if something is seriously wrong with your car. Or a stage accident, the crash-and-rob method.
Once I was in a taxi on the way to the airport, the taxi overtook a Volvo sedan driven by an elderly Caucasian lady. Two men rode up alongside her and pointed at her tires. She slowed down, but I can clearly see that there was nothing wrong with her car. I didn't know what happen but I hope she didn't stopped. The same advice by my friend still applies. While you don't need to floor your throttle and prepare yourself to run over anything in your path, the same rule of thumb still applies; that you never ever stop your vehicle for suspicious individuals. If there is anything seriously wrong with your vehicle, you wouldn't have able to drive the distance you already drove. If there are problems with your tires, it would be vibrating and making noises well before anyone told you. If your tire pressure is low, your steering will be heavier than usual, but even so it is still safe for you to continue to low speeds to the nearest gas station. But like we said, you should have already noticed all these way earlier. So do not ever slow down. If there's something wrong with your brakes, a warning light would have flashed in your dashboard.
There are also syndicates that apparently throw pebbles or stones at vehicle's windscreens, and in some countries, I have also heard of eggs being thrown at car windscreens in a bit to stop motorists. Do not use your windshield washers because it would only make things worse by smearing things over. So again, do not ever stop, keep moving and drive with your head out the window if necessary.
b) When someone is tailing you
The most basic thing anyone can do is to be alert of your surroundings. We cannot emphasize this often enough. Know the cars around you, especially if you are driving alone late at night. If you suspect anyone is tailing you, drive slowly, and later pick up your speed, you will know that you are being tailed if the pursuer matches your pace. There is a reason why secret service agents and presidential motorcades always drive fast, not because they are in a hurry but a fast moving vehicle is a difficult target and it is far easier to tell if someone is trying to keep up with you if you are driving fast. If you suspect you are being tailed, make an emergency call and quickly drive to the nearest safe location. Of course, we also cannot emphasized enough on judgment of appropriate speed. We have mentioned this before here, and this have to paired with a fairly high level of driving discipline, which we have also touched on before. There is no such thing as driving safe fast. Anyone who believed otherwise is only over estimating himself or is grossly uneducated. It's all about making trade-offs vis-a-vis other factors.
c) Crash-and-rob
Most genuine rear-ender collisions happen on the fast lane. Plus if you have been alert, you ought to know at the gut level, if the crash looked suspiciously staged. While crash-and-rob tends to happen on the slow lanes, at suspiciously low speeds. There are two common modus operandi used, some involve motorcycles some cars. Motorcycles will intentionally brush against the side of your car, or may involve a motorcycle intentionally "bumping" into you while you pull away from a traffic light. These bikers will then flag you down, fake injuries and demand that you compensate them. Once you get out of your car, you will be set upon by accomplices. The general rule of thumb again applies. Do not ever stop, do not get down from your car. Especially if you are in a vulnerable position, keep driving away, floor the throttle if you have to, and make a report at the nearest police station.
Modus operandi involving cars will have someone bumping into your rear, and then signaling you to pull over to inspect the damage. The moment you stop, you will either be set upon by a few guys from the offending car or sometimes another car will suddenly appear and box you in, blocking your escape, even before you get out of your vehicle. Hence again have to emphasize, do not ever stop. If you are in a situation where you are already boxed by another car blocking you. Do not be affraid to ram your way out. Keep reversing and accelerating forward and ram into the cars blocking you. Go slow at first, once you hit the car, floor the throttle to push it away. The side corner ends of your car bumper is the strongest so ram it an angle so you don't damage the critical radiators. You just need a small gap and you will be out of your way. Your car means nothing compared to your life. If you suspect the accident is stage, do not stop but drive to the nearest police station. If you are already at speed and someone cut in front of you, trying to box you in, match the vehicle's speed, again use the side of your car, touch the rear left sides (if you drive in a right hand drive country, else do the oppossite side) at the edge of the bumper, floor the throttle and push it away to send the offending car into a spin. The videos below will show you how to do it.
Some further tips on offensive driving in the following videos.
Pass these along, not only to your wife, your mother, your daughters but also to your sons and fathers. Like we said earlier, everything here applies to everyone.
And of course, if there is enough people who want to rob and kill you, you may want to consider a Mercedes Guard series or BMW Security series.
But after all said and done, everything learned here will come to naught if you can't keep yourself calm. And that is the hardest thing to do. Most of us, bar pilots, military and rescue personnel are not thought to react under such circumstances. Keep cool, ignore the noises and the threats and look for a way out.
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