Seal Survival Guide

by Cade Courtley

  THE BUMP AND JUMP

  One technique carjackers use, particularly in quiet areas of suburbs or on country roads, is to hit your car from behind. The normal procedure following such an incident is to stop the vehicle and exchange license and insurance information. However, check out if the scenario seems a bit too manufactured, and scrutinize who is in the car that just hit you, especially if you see that it is occupied by two people who seem particularly focused on your reaction. I’m not saying that an elderly lady with a poodle on her lap accompanied by another senior couldn’t be a carjacker. However, this scheme is usually pulled off by two or more younger males. Once you stop, they’ve got you. If your gut tells you this seems wrong, keep moving slowly, and wave for them to follow you, until you can stop the car in a more public place. Also, get on your cell phone and notify police of what just happened, who you are, and why you are moving from the scene. Give them information on where you plan to stop.

  GOOD SAMARITAN

  In this situation, a car may seem disabled on the roadside. One of the jackers will try to flag you down while another person, near the car, feigns injury. Once you stop to offer assistance, they pounce.

  Again, I’m not advocating that you avoid helping those in need, but remember to be aware of the situation. Think before stopping to assist in an accident. Immediately call 911 and report the situation, location, number of cars involved, and any injuries. You may choose to wait until the police arrive instead of intervening directly.

  If you need a closer look, with your windows rolled up and doors locked, slowly approach the scene but keep at least ten to fifteen feet of distance. This will allow you plenty of time and distance to flee the scene should things go wrong.

  THE RUSE METHOD

  This is when a car drives alongside you or flashes its lights, apparently wanting to tell you that something is wrong with your car. They may say there is an object dragging from your rear bumper, or even that it seems that there is fire near your muffler. It will always be something that seems to demand immediate attention for the purpose of getting you to pull off the road and stop your car. Generally, the bigger the story, the less accurate it will be, so be aware and listen to your instincts and keep your BS detector on high alert.

  THE TRAP TECHNIQUE

  They follow you home and wait until you pull into your driveway or a gated community. They ambush you when you park or while you are waiting for the gate to open. In this scenario, the attacker drives up from behind and blocks the victim’s car.

  SURPRISE ATTACK

  Some carjackers don’t bother with a narrative and merely open your door and yank you out. This is not usually the case at an intersection, since the car will most likely be in drive. This could happen while in a parking lot, when carjackers see that your car is running but you are distracted by texting or whatever.

  Prevention

  Always remember: Carjackers count on the element of surprise. So the first point of prevention is to not be distracted in high-risk areas. This means no cell phone conversations or seat-dancing to your music. Additionally:

  • Keep your doors locked and windows up. Most new vehicles will automatically lock the doors when you put the car in gear.

  • When stopped, use your rear- and side-view mirrors to stay aware of your surroundings. This increases your safety and makes it more difficult for an attacker to surprise you.

  • Keep some distance between you and the vehicle in front so you can maneuver easily, if necessary. Always remain about one half of your vehicle’s length from the car in front of you when stopped at an intersection.

  • It also may help prevent your car from getting carjacked at intersections if you install the maximum allowed legal tint on the front windows. This hinders carjackers from knowing how many people are in your car or if you are alerted to their planned attack. Don’t be distracted with texting, for example, while approaching your parked car on foot. Enter the car while remaining attentive and wait to send your messages or place your phone calls at another, well-lighted location.

  • If you are bumped from behind, or if someone tries to alert you to a problem with your vehicle, pull over only when you reach a safe public place.

  • Think before stopping to assist in an accident. It may be safer to call 911 and report the location, number of cars involved, and any injuries you observed.

  • If you are parked at a mall or at an office building, and the lot seems abandoned when you wish to return to your car, ask the building’s security for an escort.

  • If you are driving into a gated community that doesn’t have security personnel and uses only an intercom, call ahead to have the gate opened. Then wait on the street until the gate is open before turning in and possibly getting trapped.

  • In all cases, keep your cell phone or radio with you and immediately alert someone regarding your situation.

  During a Carjacking

  In most carjacking situations, the attackers are interested only in the vehicle. In many instances, you can get off the X by simply surrendering your keys and stepping aside. If this is not an option, try to stay calm, and if given the time, perform an immediate threat assessment. From this threat assessment information, you must decide the best course of action: compliance, flight, or fight.

  • Type of attack: nonviolent or violent?

  • Environment: isolated or public?

  • Mental state of attacker: reasonable or nervous?

  • Number of attackers.

  • Weapons.

  • Whether or not children are present in your vehicle.

  Never risk your life for property.

  COMPLIANCE—GIVING UP YOUR CAR

  In most cases, giving up your car is absolutely the right thing to do. When doing so, make sure you:

  1. Listen carefully to all directions.

  2. Make no quick or sudden movements that the attacker could construe as a counterattack.

  3. Get your seat belt off. If this becomes violent, you don’t want to be pinned in your seat.

  4. Always keep your hands in plain view. Tell the attacker every move in advance.

  5. Inform the carjacker that the car is installed with a locator device that cannot be deactivated.

  6. Make the attacker aware if children are present. The attacker may be focused only on the driver and not know children are in the car.

  FLEEING

  Most of the time, the carjacker wants your keys and you out of the car. However, if you have a child in the car or feel that complying will mean certain death, pull the trigger! If you are already outside of the car, “accidentally” dropping the keys or tossing them a short distance might give you the moment you need to flee on foot. If still inside, finding a way to distract the carjacker momentarily might enable you to use the power of your vehicle and drive away.

  WHEN A CARJACKING BECOMES AN ABDUCTION

  If you are driving

  In a number of cases, the carjacker will want you to drive the car, perhaps to participate in an even larger crime, or even to rape or murder you. If you find yourself in this situation, the carjacker might be in the passenger seat or in the seat behind you, and will most likely have a weapon pointed at you. If you are driving, you must remain calm, while feigning that you are overly panicky to the attacker. By acting as if you are uncontrollably nervous, you can drive erratically, with the goal of getting spotted by the police.

  • Draw attention by gradually drifting across the centerline.

  • Tap your brakes to set the brake lights off repeatedly. If tapped lightly, this will only cause the brake lights to go on, not slow down the car—a good signal to the outside world that the carjacker likely won’t be able to notice.

  • Leave a turn signal on.

  • If it’s night, attempt to turn the headlights off.

  • Run a stop sign or travel far below or above the speed limit.

  • If pulled over, act as if you are under the influence. Use slow, slurred speech, or
hand the officer the wrong ID, such as a credit card instead of your license. Do whatever you can to get yourself out of the vehicle. Your goal is to communicate to the officer that you are in a dire situation. If you are acting intoxicated, the officer will usually ask you to leave the car, at which time you can divulge the true seriousness of your situation. Get off the X any way you can!

  Carjacked as a passenger

  If you are a passenger in the abducted vehicle and the carjacker is driving, look for an opportunity to escape. Ideas include:

  • If you know how to disengage the door lock from your seat, look for an opportunity when the car slows and is away from oncoming traffic to leap from the car.

  • Get sick, act as if convulsing, and, if possible, vomit; the idea is to make yourself a hindrance to a quick escape. If your abductor thinks you are about to die right there in the car, it may help you. Some criminals don’t want to get charged with manslaughter in addition to grand theft auto.

  • Pull the emergency brake.

  • Reach over and throw the car into reverse, which will stall the vehicle and distract your assailant.

  If confined to the trunk of the vehicle

  • Disconnect the rear brake-light wiring (in an attempt to have the car pulled over).

  • Use the trunk escape or release key, which is on the interior of the trunk in many new cars and glows in the dark.

  • Attempt to open the trunk using tire jack hardware by inserting it between the trunk and body of the car and using a prying motion. You may also be able to use the jack on the trunk the same way you would to lift a car and pop the trunk open.

  • Try to sneak into the backseat by forcing the seat back to fold down (forward). If the backseat has a fold-down armrest, there is generally only a thin layer of fabric separating the seat from the trunk.

  In 1995, a woman by the name of Janette Fennell was locked in her trunk by robbers. After surviving the ordeal, she led a campaign to have emergency releases installed inside car trunks. All cars built after 2001 are required to have them. Know where it is on your car and how to use it.

  PREPAREDNESS DRILL

  Open up the trunk of your car. Look at the lock mechanism carefully until you are familiar with its particular design. If you were abducted, it would likely be your own vehicle in which you would be trapped. Is there a gap at the lock device? Is it screwed in or welded? Also, know where your jack is located so that if you had to find it in total darkness you could. Take time to note how the wall of the backseat or trunk barrier, the part that separates this area from the interior of your car, is constructed and figure out how you would dismantle it from the inside.

  EARTHQUAKE

  On the list of natural disasters, earthquakes instill the greatest fear. There’s something inherently unnerving about the idea that the very ground we are standing on could instantly tremble and split open. In addition, despite the advances in technology that can forecast tornadoes, hurricanes, and even tsunamis, the ability to predict earthquakes with any accuracy, and with adequate time to provide a way to prepare for this disaster, remains elusive.

  Earthquakes are caused by shifting tectonic plates and by subterranean pressure and heat that has been trapped in the earth since the planet was formed. Scientists tell us that all the continents were once joined in a huge landmass as one supercontinent, called Pangaea. Earthquakes are among the natural forces that shifted all the continents to where they are today. The power of these things carved out rivers, pushed up mountain ranges, and created basins to form the sea. In other words, the earth is supposed to move, and we should expect it to happen. This is why you need to know what to do and rehearse the actions that you need to take in order to survive this natural disaster.

  Thirty-nine U.S. states have ongoing earthquake activity. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) detects an average of 20,000 earthquakes each year—about 50 per day. Worldwide, there are more than 150 earthquakes measuring over 6.0 on the Richter scale, which can cause damage within a 100-mile radius, each year.

  Preparedness: Secure the Compound

  Study the map on page 130, provided by the U.S. Geological Survey. If your house is located in the most risk-prone areas, preparedness is required.

  Falling debris is the greatest cause of death and injury during the initial earthquake tremor. Go from room to room and make sure things like bookcases are bracketed to the wall. Remove the bigger objects from high shelves and place on the floor. Install a permanent block or wood strip in front of appliances to prevent them from rolling forward. If you have gas appliances, make sure there is enough flex in the hose; it’s broken gas lines that provide the most potentially serious fire hazards in the aftermath of an earthquake. Strap down your water heater, and bracket or remove mirrors or pictures hanging near beds. Earthquakes can strike day or night. Periodically check supplies in your designated safe room and practice drills in how to respond with the entire family. Familiarity and rehearsal equals quicker response time and proportionately increases chances for survival. Unlike basement safe rooms, which are ideal in tornado-prone regions, in earthquake zones a mid-level floor might be a better place to create your safe room. This can prevent injury from falling debris. A room that has a window that can allow for escape when the trembling ceases is another consideration.

  In addition, if you live in a single-family house, be observant of structural flaws, such as foundation cracks or sagging roof areas. Weakened structures will buckle even during smaller tremors. Pay particular attention to chimneys, and make sure the mortar is in place.

  If you live in a multiunit building, choosing a safe room is dependent on the size of the structure. Mid-level is more or less ideal, though the strategy is a balancing act between seeking shelter that’s too high, and which will increase your chances of tumbling downward among falling debris, or being too low in the building and getting trapped or injured by that same debris.

  For earthquake emergencies, elevators are absolutely eliminated as evacuation exits. Take the stairs!

  In 2002, a 5.2 earthquake hit the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Only one man died during this event, killed by debris when a chimney collapsed.

  What to Do in an Earthquake

  There are myths and misinformation on what to do first if an earthquake hits. Most think you should run outside, get in a doorframe, or get against a wall.

  All wrong!

  IF YOU ARE OUTDOORS

  Get to a clearing and away from buildings, poles, and overhead power lines; the risk of injury or death from falling debris is greater than that from getting swallowed up in a fissure. Remember, the safest distance away from a building is at least three times the height of the building. Ideally, if you can get to a large parking lot or to an open park area, you should be safe. Pay close attention to nearby trees, rocks, and boulders, situating yourself far enough away in the event that they should fall or tumble. In addition to falling debris, beware of the chance of a sinkhole forming. If you are near a hill or natural incline, make your way to the summit, as tremors could cause soil movement and landslides at lower elevations.

  IF YOU ARE IN A VEHICLE

  Stop your car as soon as possible. Try to make sure you are far enough away from buildings, highway on-off ramps, and utility poles. How far is enough? Rule of thumb is three times the height of any item that has the potential to fall on you—if a nearby building is thirty feet tall, try to get at least ninety away. Attempt to drive off elevated roadways or bridges before stopping. Stay in the vehicle. Hunker down, and get as far as you can from the interior roof, in the event something crashes onto the car. However, if you are in a garage or multilevel parking facility, get out of the vehicle immediately and crouch next to it. The roof of the vehicle won’t be able to withstand the weight of collapsing concrete.

  IF YOU ARE INSIDE

  Stay inside. It is counterintuitive to remain in a building that may collapse on top of you during an earthquake, but again, the risk of injury or death from falling gla
ss and debris is much greater if you try to exit once the tremor has begun. There are two methods of coping when inside a structure during an earthquake.

  Drop, cover, and hold on

  Find a sturdy table or piece of furniture and get under it. Cover your head with your arms and hold on. This is recommended for more-developed countries because of improved construction and safety requirements for structures. In Third World countries, depending on the nearness of exits or windows that you observed during your situational awareness exercises, making a dive to get out of the building might be prudent. Remember: If it is man-made, Mother Nature can destroy it in a heartbeat.

  Triangle of Life

  In this alternate method, position yourself next to a sturdy piece of furniture so that if a wall collapses, it will create a crawl space or void space in which you can survive.

  Stay put until the shaking has stopped. It will rarely last longer than a minute, although it may feel like an eternity.

  When I was in college in San Diego, I experienced my first of several earthquakes. And I have to admit I did what any earthquake rookie would do—I ran outside. So I talked to my neighbor for a couple of minutes, reflecting on the experience, before I realized I was buck naked. Let’s just say that my situational awareness ran a little thin in the college years. She didn’t seem to mind, though.