Have you ever given thought to a carjacking?  My thought on this was that only elite cars get carjacked.  I found out that I was wrong. Over the weekend I took the Carjacking course at FSGR.  I learned that in the Baltimore region of Maryland carjacking is on the rise in Ellicott City and Columbia. This surprised me.  I was also surprised that you are not even safe in your own driveway!!! That is really disturbing. 

The basics that I knew on this topic were never park by a construction van or walk to your car if one of these vans is parked beside your car.  I also knew that if kidnapped and put in the truck of a car you should knock the taillight out and then put your hand out of the hole to get attention from other cars.  But there are so many other things we must also know.  I made a list of 23 things, most of which I had never thought of doing.   

One common sense thing would be to not look at your phone when walking.  Okay, we have all laughed at the videos of the guy/gal tripping while on their phone. But it is not funny when they are on their phone and get grabbed from a car they are walking by.  What are you going to do if that white van is parked beside your car, but the parking lot is almost empty? Are you going to notice it? Are you going to walk to your car not knowing if anyone is in the van? Or are you going to have a security guard or policeman walk you to your car?  We all must stay alert at all times. 

Car alarms were designed to get our attention, but how many of us hear an alarm and get irritated by the noise instead of checking to make sure that someone is not in trouble.  Blowing a whistle or yelling fire is a really good way to draw attention.  Everyone wants to see a good fire and how often do you hear a whistle?  You may want to buy a whistle and keep it handy. 

A large number of carjackers work in groups.  They may “bump” your car at a traffic light, act like their car is broken down on the side of the roads, or just walk up to you in a parking lot.  What are you going to do if you are approached?  As I said, I have a list of 23 items. I am sure that I could write a book, but I won’t.   

If there is a Carjacking class near you, I highly recommend enrolling. 

Below is a US Gov Article link

(Released by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security August 2002 https://2009-2017.state.gov/m/ds/rls/rpt/19782.htm)