Bad Personal Protection Tip: Having A Vehicle Trunk Escape Plan
While attending a Detroit Police Department Quarterly Town Hall Meeting a few years ago, I was first exposed to the most intriguing bit of personal protection advice I had ever heard to date. The tip has extremely limited application as it is only relevant if the victim has been kidnapped and thrown into a vehicle's trunk.
The solution, as told at the aforementioned meeting, is to kick out the rear vehicle's tail lights with your feet from inside the trunk and to subsequently extend your hand through the opening. Allegedly, other drivers on the road will see this odd sight and will intervene in some fashion to aid you in your escape.
At first blush, I thought the tip was helpful. The very first thing that I did after meeting was to open my vehicle's trunk while still in the venue's parking lot and to see if this idea had merit. Unfortunately, my vehicle's rear lights were not accessible from inside the trunk. Undaunted, I checked - with permission - the interiors of car trunks of family members and friends. I could not locate a single vehicle in which the tactic could be applied.
A far better tactic in this situation - being stuffed into a trunk against your will - would be to locate the glow-in-the-dark interior trunk release handle which was mandated by the federal government to be installed in all cars sold in the US in the year 2002 and afterwards.
This escape tactic, of course, would only be applicable if the kidnapper did not cut or disable the handle and its associated cable before abducting you. Moreover, all of this Houdini-esque trickery is all for naught if the bad guy had the presence of mind to bind you with rope or duct tape before throwing you in the trunk.
Most people who are abducted and thrown into a trunk are never later seen alive. Once a bad guy has taken his victim away from the primary crime scene, the victim's odds of surviving the incident plummets. The eventual destination will be a secluded location where no potential witnesses will be able to see or hear what the abductor has planned for his prey.
Thusly, the only rational tactic is to avoid being put in the trunk in the first place. Well, how exactly does one do that? By any means necessary do not allow someone to abduct you. You should fight as if your life depends on it because it does. A common objection I hear about this tactic is the possibility of the abductor having a gun or other weapon and threatening to shoot you with it.
If he wants to shoot you and has the means and the opportunity, he will shoot you - then and there. It is better to be shot in your own driveway than to be left - shot and alone - in some alley or deserted industrial district. At the very least, if you do get shot there is a good chance that you will survive - depending on how many times you are shot and how fast you can get to a hospital.
Avoidance is always the best policy with respect to personal protection. Good decision making is also a helpful trait. Do not engage in any activity that will put you at a greater risk for being attacked or abducted. However, despite our best efforts to reduce the likelihood of being attacked violent crime may still present itself. Thus, you should prepare for it and know before-hand what you are willing to do when it happens. If you don't have a plan, get one before you need one.
For more info on the subjects of Responsible Firearm Ownership, Personal Protection, or Gun Rights, please visit our blog - Legally Armed In Detroit - on the Internet: http://www.legallyarmedindetroit.com/
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit. Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, UPI, NRAnews, Guns Digest, Tactical-Life, The Truth About Guns, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, The Detroit Examiner, WJLB, WGPR, and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
For more info about free shooting lessons for women and Michigan CCW Classes, please contact:
Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit
Web: http://www.detroitccw.com.
Email: info@detroitccw.com
Phone: 313.733.7404
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I do most of my blogging and article writing in coffee shops because there are too many distractions at home.
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