Best Tips for Staying Safe on the Streets!
Staying safe on the streets of our towns and cities has become much harder than it used to be! And don’t be misled, it’s not just the big cities either! Some people even feel safer walking the streets of a major city than those of a quiet and dark country town!
Lately, there has been increased public concern over safety on the streets. Such events have triggered dramatic scenes, protests and awareness, and highly charged debate in the news and social media. We have collected and bundled together some simple strategies that anyone can use to help stay safe.
Staying Safe on the Streets: Take a Buddy
In what seems the most simple advice, try and walk with a friend or pal each and every time. Ask your significant other, a roommate, or another friend to go with you on any trips to the local shops or cheerfully strolling home from a late-night party, for example.
You are automatically a less strategic target if you’re not alone. And these days, any extra, genuine social interaction that is not via a smartphone or PC is a fantastic way to spend your personal downtime.
Darkness can Create the Opportunity of Surprise
If you happen to unexpectedly find yourself walking alone at night, stay near well-lit places of business and well-lit walkways.
Stay completely away from alleys and any other poorly lit, closed spaces that might allow an attacker the advantage of surprise.
Staying Safe on the Streets: Stay Alert at All Times
When you find yourself walking alone, day or night, it is essential to be alert. Don’t be distracted or aloof around your surroundings, and do not take things for granted.
A distracted person is an easy target. In the same vein as using your phone while driving a car, it is much safer for you to put the phone in your pocket. Surely the world can go without hearing from you or checking your social media for the next ten minutes! If you have your phone open, your eyes, mind, and hands are otherwise engaged, and you won’t be ready for any potential attack.
Scan Your Surroundings Like the Terminator!
Your eyes and ears are your most powerful tools, and as you walk, you should be paying attention to what you can see and what you can hear. Taking in the details of your surroundings can help you identify potential problems before you’re in the middle of an unsafe situation. You can also identify exit routes, safe places to duck into, and allies on the street more quickly.
There’s a Right Time for Blaring Music
Far be it for me to tell you that you shouldn’t enjoy your Bluetooth headphones and motivational music during a morning or evening walk or run. If you take a gentle, daylight walk along a residential street with traffic, pump up the volume and get into the music! However, if you’ve just left a late-night party and are walking home through seemingly quiet streets and not much traffic, let’s keep the earbuds in your pockets or bag! Just make sure it is safe before you choose to get lost in your music.
Staying Safe on the Streets: Car Safety
Your hands are so important and should be free, so you can defend yourself or be prepared for immediate action like unlocking your car. For example, before you leave the mall, grab your car keys out of your bag. Then, keep them ready in hand as you walk through the parking lot to your car. This way, you are prepared to get in your vehicle straight away, instead of standing around like a sitting duck while trying to find your keys!
The number one rule here is to lock your car immediately after sitting down. So many people have been attacked from behind after an assailant jumped in through the back doors.
Staying Safe on the Streets: Ooze Confidence and Purpose
On any occasion you find yourself walking alone, walk with purpose and project confidence. Be sure to hold your chin up, keep your eyes forward and stride out at a fast speed.
Similar to the sometimes brutal animal world, attackers are more likely to victimize someone who looks lost or timid.
If you are unsure where you’re going, FAKE IT AND ACT LIKE YOU KNOW. Don’t stop moving and act as if nothing is wrong. If you feel hopelessly lost and need to look up directions, or reset, don’t make it obvious by looking confused and disorientated. An intelligent attacker will pick up on it and use this to their advantage, possibly offering you a ride or other assistance.
Trust your gut and decline if a stranger seems too insistent to help you.
What’s Open and can Get You Out of Danger?
Instead of standing still and trying to work out where you are, look for and enter any open and engaged space such as a strip mall, petrol station, or pizza shop! It is incredibly unlikely that a would-be attacker will follow you inside. A safe and populated place also gives you a perfect opportunity to call a friend or a cab. Make sure you stay inside until they arrive.
If A Threat Confronts You
It may seem like a good idea to tell a robber that you have no money in the hope they might leave you alone, but this technique may backfire. It is far better to give up a few dollars than your life!
The stolen money can be replaced. You or a loved one can not. Carry a little cash separate from your other funds in an accessible place.
If someone demands your property and displays or implies that they have a weapon, please don’t resist.
Don’t Be Afraid to be Vocal and Loud!
If someone tries to grab you, make a scene. Scream, kick, fight, or do what you can to get away and attract attention.
If you feel that someone is following you and making unwanted verbal contact, a great strategy is to create a loud and attention-grabbing scene that turns the discomfort on them, ultimately causing them to leave. Strange noises and disturbances may be significant if it is nighttime in a residential neighborhood. It would help if you got people looking out their windows or opening doors to see what’s up.
Stay in a well-lit area, so it’s easy for people to see and help you. Get under the sensor light if they have one, drawing attention to yourself. Don’t be afraid to tear up to somebody’s deck if you have to.
What if No One Else is Around?
On occasion, you may find yourself somewhere with no one else around. It is best to not verbally engage the threat unless you feel in danger or if they make a sudden move to come upon you.
If they make a move on you, it’s time to increase the volume! You must scream and yell so that people in the area might hear you and look out their windows. Yell with a loud and clear “GO AWAY!” or “NO!”
Be strong and forthright. Commit to your inner power and try your best not to waver or sound unsure. A time such as this is NOT the time to be polite and meek. Yell, scream and throw in a heap of f-bombs if you need to – noise is your friend and will work as a car alarm screaming out into the silence! Assailants target people they perceive as easy mark who won’t put up much of a fight. Making a scene and being loud tells them this attack won’t be easy, and you aren’t going to go quietly.
Staying Safe on the Streets: Self Defense Options
The products we will discuss are two of the best, readily available, and straightforward to use self-defense options. They are both safe for the user and legal to carry in most states.
Carrying a knife or gun is helpful, but you must be fully trained and competent to use these weapons. Training takes a lot of time and may not even be legal to carry in your state. Knives and gins can also be taken from you or even turned against you by a better-trained attacker. There are better options available as solid day-to-day personal security measures for these reasons.
Pepper Spray is the Number 1 Self-Defense Option for Street Safety!
Sabre Pepper Spray is by far the best confidence booster and personal security partner you will find! Pepper spray is relatively easy to find at hardware stores, online department stores, or sporting goods stores. You don’t need overkill for staying safe on the streets; Just a simple handheld unit from a trusted brand will suffice.
For example, the Sabre Advanced Compact Pepper Spray with Clip (pictured) is one of the most highly rated and frequently purchased pepper sprays across Amazon!
Like the safety mode on a firearm, most pepper sprays have safe and secure locking to prevent accidental discharging. Several models also have hand straps to help keep them with you and ready to go whenever needed!
Using pepper spray is pretty easy too. You simply point at the target and spray!
When contact with the spray is made, they grab their eyes and scream. That is when you RUN!
Kitty Cat Self Defense Keychains
These look cute, like an adorable little kitty cat but think again. It’s closer to a knuckle buster! Once you slip your fingers through it, it makes a great tool and inflicts severe damage. Furthermore, it is much less likely to get wrestled away or turned against you because it is practically fixed to your hand.
Of course, the hope is that your attacker never even gets close enough for you to use one of these options. However, you will certainly feel safer and more confident knowing you have one.
Gross Them Out with Your Spit
Yes, you read correctly – spit. In times of Covid and other diseases, people are often more fearful of bodily fluids than a 9mm pistol being pointed at them! You can use your own spit as a self-defense tool if you’re in danger.
Not only have you just done something super unexpected, but it might even gross your attacker out. If you’re lucky, he’s also distracted and furiously trying to wipe the spit out of his nose and eyes. This minor disruption of time, no matter how gross, is your brief window to get away and yell for help. Like the lion that gives up the chase on the gazelle that is too fast, your attacker will most likely give up too and look for an easier target!
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