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Hello, and welcome to another episode of the self initiative project podcast.

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I’m your host, Jim O’Brien.

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Hey, and welcome back to another episode of the self initiative project podcast.

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I know that’s a repeat of my intro that I’ve had every single episode, but guess what?

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This is episode 48, and I’m excited because that means that we’ve been doing

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this podcast now for four years straight.

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48 podcasts, one a month for the last four years.

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So I’m happy to be here still doing this and hopefully getting out some nuggets

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of information that somebody might be able to benefit from.

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And look, if they don’t take it away, and it’s said, right, you can’t teach anybody anything.

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You can’t make anybody do anything. But if I can just give you cause to think

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about something, maybe something that you haven’t thought about before,

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then I’ve done my job and that’s great.

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So happy anniversary to us, I guess.

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But on a serious note, I wanted to get us together this episode to talk about

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carjacking. It’s a topic that I haven’t covered yet.

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And I have talked about safety in and around your vehicles. If you haven’t heard

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that podcast, I highly recommend it.

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It goes back to our first year of doing this. It is podcast number 11 for us,

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and I believe the title actually is Safety in and Around Your Vehicle.

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So if you haven’t heard podcast number 11 of ours, I highly recommend you going

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back and listening to that one.

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But I wanted to cover carjacking.

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Actually, in the spirit of transparency, I reached out to some of my buddies

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more recently, and I said, Hey, how about a topic? Is there a topic that you

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would like me to cover that maybe I haven’t yet? And one of my buddies was, how about carjacking?

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It seems to be on the rise here lately. And I was like, ah, you know, I don’t know.

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I’ve covered some vehicle safety in the past, both safety in and around your

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vehicle. And then we talked about some things you needed to be leery of or,

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you know, think about if you find yourself in a riot or protest.

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In a metropolitan area or wherever it might occur. We talked about that,

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I think, in our podcast talking about safety around during a pandemic, right?

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Timely, a year or so, year or two ago or so.

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That’s another good one you might want to listen to. But the more I thought

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about it, I was like, yeah, why not? This is a topic we haven’t covered.

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And, you know, with the news talking

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about how carjacking might be on the rise, I thought, hey, why not?

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It’s a topic that might be worth some investigation. So here we are.

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So carjacking is what we’re going to talk about this episode.

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So what I want to do is kind of define the difference between car theft and

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carjacking. That’s pretty straightforward.

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I’m not going to do a deep dive into legal.

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Suffice it to say, if you’re interested in learning more about what your rights

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are as a gun owner and a concealed carry permit when it comes to carjacking or car theft.

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I would strongly encourage you as well as anyone interested in carrying a firearm

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or any other weapon or tool for self-defense that you look into and become at

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least familiar on a basic level of laws in your state,

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because they do vary from state to state.

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So we’re going to talk a little bit about some of that stuff,

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but we’re certainly not going to do a deep dive. I’m no lawyer and I’ve sought

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no legal consultation to do this podcast.

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I just want to throw that out there, but we’ll cover a couple of nuggets and

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then just in general, you know, some things that we can do better for ourselves

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and our families to stay safer, right?

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To be smarter, to be more alert, to pay attention, to better maybe avoid the

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possibility of ever being carjacked.

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So with that, we’re going to get started.

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So what’s the difference between carjacking and car theft?

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Well, that’s a great question. I’m glad you asked. So car theft,

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basically you’re not around, right?

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A person comes, grand theft auto, right? A person comes, you know,

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maybe you’ve left your car unlocked.

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Maybe you’ve even left the keys in it. But a person comes and takes your car

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and it’s with the intent of either permanently taking it from you or maybe even

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just temporarily, right?

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Like a lot of times cars get stolen just for joy rides for young people and

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whatnot. That’s happened, right? You’ve heard about that many times.

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I was shocked to read recently that even some 10 and 12-year-olds have been caught in the,

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stealing cars for joy rides. So it happens, right?

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And fortunately, like everything else, contrary to what you might hear in the

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major media outlets, bad things don’t happen that often, that frequently in

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the overall scheme of things.

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So the fact that there’s an uptick, I’m always a little cautious when it comes

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to news media and the information that they’re putting out there.

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Sure, there may be an uptick.

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I know I’ve seen some articles talking about how carjacking has been on the

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rise during the pandemic.

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I don’t know. I do know that from what news articles I have read and things

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I’ve seen online that some of the major metropolitan areas, New York,

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Chicago, LA, New Orleans,

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you know, some more of the, dare I say, suspect areas have evidently seen an uptick and carjacking.

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I also want to caution you, and I’ll get back to definitions in a moment,

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I also want to caution you that depending on the source of information you’re getting your,

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information and research data from, I’ve noticed that some sources will talk

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about car theft and carjacking in the same context.

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And yeah, I guess if I were to go out on a limb, you know, yeah,

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it’s all vehicle car related.

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And by the way, by car, I really mean vehicle. It’s any sort of vehicle you

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drive, whether it’s car, truck, SUV, station, wagon, hatchback, whatever,

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just during this podcast, just know, instead of saying vehicle,

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which I forced myself to try and do, I may wind up saying car more frequently.

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I’m just going to throw that out there in the universe just for an FYI.

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But what we’re talking about is vehicle, right?

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Generically termed anything that you’re driving.

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So they will combine the two, and I get it, right? It’s all vehicle-related, but…

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Car jacking is not the same thing. So we talked about car theft,

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meaning someone just takes your car, right?

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Like whether it’s out of the parking lot while you’re at the store or out of

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your own driveway or down at the street where you park,

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you know, they’ve just either opened up the door and gotten in and your keys

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are there, they’ve hot wired it, or maybe they’ve busted out the glass to get in there, whatever.

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And the intent is to keep it permanently, do something with it, Maybe send it.

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Maybe it’s a big car dealio and they’re sending vehicles to Mexico.

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You know, that happens too.

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Or maybe it’s just a couple of teenagers, even younger, looking for a joyride.

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So that’s kind of the car theft thing.

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And there’s no immediate threat to you necessarily, right?

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Carjacking, on the other hand, and I forget where I saw the definition,

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but it’s basically there’s an assault involved with taking the vehicle.

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In other words, you as the owner or whoever happens to be with the vehicle,

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driving the vehicle or whatever, in the moment of time where the carjackers

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come, you know, whether they pull a gun on you, a knife, they club you,

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they yank you out of the car, whatever.

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There’s generally some sort of attack on the person that has the car initially,

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right? It’d be cool or interesting if there’s carjackings of carjackers’ cars,

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you know, like a double whammy there. But I digress.

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But anyway, carjacking, there’s generally some sort of assault involved.

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And, of course, we hear about guns being pulled on people and old ladies being

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ripped out of their cars, whatever.

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So that’s kind of the difference, right? One involves violence or the threat

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of violence, and the other one is just a piece of property being stolen.

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And so that’s first and foremost, you know,

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And again, I’m not 100% convinced that there’s an uptick in carjackings.

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Maybe there is. Do I think the pandemic is directly responsible for this? No.

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I would be, not to get too political, but I would probably be more willing to

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say that in gun-free zones and or places,

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cities, et cetera, where the police have been defunded, crime in general is up overall, right?

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And that’s been shown and proven time and time again.

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So whatever side of the gun issue you stand on, we kind of have to acknowledge those facts. Right.

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So I suspect that gun policies, gun control and or defunding the police in more

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recent past probably has more to do with it than the pandemic itself.

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But if the pandemic has caused more hijacking, or sorry, not hijacking,

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carjacking, I’d be really curious to know what exactly has caused that out of the pandemic.

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So there are a few laws that, you know, that might come into play or we might

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think about when it comes to carjacking.

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One is stand your ground. Like here in Georgia, we have a stand your ground

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law. duty to retreat, which we’re not going to do a deep dive on or any of these for that matter.

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And then also, is a car an extension of one’s home?

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And that’s an interesting one because I think people generally seem to think

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or be under the impression that their vehicle is an extension of their home

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and therefore they can defend it in a similar fashion.

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While that is the case in some states. It is not the case in most states as

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I understand it. So again.

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If you’re thinking in terms of defending yourself, your loved ones,

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and there’s a, especially if there’s a weapon of some sort involved in that

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game plan of yours, it’s incumbent upon you to learn the laws of your life.

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For the area in which you live, right? The state in which you live.

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So I want to encourage you to do that. And again, I don’t want to spend too

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much time on legal aspects other than to say,

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those three areas are kind of some, can potentially be some confusing gray areas

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around carjacking or car theft in general as well.

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And I just want to caution you that it may or may not apply to you depending on where you are.

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So I would encourage you and recommend you to learn some basic legal aspects

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in the state that you live in.

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You know, going back to carjacking, talking about guns and whatever, or sorry, car theft.

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If you, and I just want to put this out there as well for a basic note for you

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to remember, if you were to happen to come out your front door of your house

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and find someone trying to break into your car,

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you more than likely can’t shoot them.

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Now, there might be some exceptions to that in some states I’m not privy to,

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but I know a lot of gung-ho gun owners and or folks that have enormous egos or tough guy,

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tough girl attitudes think that they’re just going to shoot the person right

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there in their driveway or in the parking lot, out in public, whatever.

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I would caution you not to have that as your go-to response for that scenario,

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you’re more than likely just better calling the police,

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turning on security lights around your house, you know, if it happens to be

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after dark, maybe making some noise to let them know that you’re home and around,

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but don’t go thinking that you can just shoot someone because you’re taking their property.

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That’s true whether it’s the car in your driveway or if you happen to get up

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in the middle of the night and see somebody that’s no immediate threat to you,

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You know, walking out your back door with their television over your shoulder.

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If you shoot those people, you’re likely going to have some legal issues on your hands.

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So I just want to drop that knowledge on you here and now, in case some of you

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might be thinking, I’m just going to shoot them when and if that happens to me.

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Probably not the best approach for you to take. And again, this is why I would

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encourage you to learn more about the legalities for your state where you live

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or where you travel to as well on a regular basis is important, just as important.

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So in the context of carjacking, what are some things that we can do to hopefully

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better avoid ever running into a situation where we find ourselves being carjacked,

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right? Not a laughing matter.

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And a lot of the points that we’ll talk about are a lot of the things that we

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should be using even outside the context of carjacking specifically.

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But since we’re here today to talk about carjacking, it’s a good,

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serves as a good reminder to keep up with a lot of these things.

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And our general approach to our personal safety is at large.

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So just going to cover some of these as we go.

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You know, one of the things you want to do is make sure you know where you’re

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going so that you don’t find yourself in a bad part of town.

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You know, maps are our friends, as is GPS, if you’re in an unfamiliar part of

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the country or state or city, ask around before you go, find out.

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But you wanna try to avoid generally bad parts of town.

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For example, Chicago is a wonderful city. I know that might run contrary to

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what some of you think or know otherwise, but I think Chicago is a wonderful city for the most part.

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But there is a section or a side or a part of town that you absolutely don’t

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want to find yourself in, right?

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And so it’s important that we do our research ahead of time so that we can do

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a better job of avoiding just bad areas, right?

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That’s a practice that we should have in our everyday lives and getting around and about anyway.

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And certainly keeping after dark activities to a minimum, ladies especially.

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You want to try to be avoiding the bad parts of town, certainly,

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but you also don’t want to be running to the gas station after dark,

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especially by yourself.

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So keeping after dark activities, especially if you’re alone to a minimum,

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can really go a long way towards keeping you safe in general.

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You know, we’ve talked about in the context of personal safety,

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carrying yourself in a strong manner. You want to walk with intent,

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which generally means a little upbeat pace, perhaps, right?

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You want to be looking around so that if nothing else, you might better appear

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as though you are aware of and you are paying attention to your surroundings.

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This means you want to stay off your smartphone and keep your head up and paying attention, right?

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This means walking with our shoulders back as well.

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So just some pointers to maybe carry yourself in a stronger fashion,

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even, dare I say, a more authoritative fashion, you know, to and from your car,

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or especially if you’re going to your car, right, is always a good thing.

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Don’t doodle around. When you’re moving through transition spaces,

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in other words, that parking lot, the garage,

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maybe from your garage or your front door to your driveway, to the vehicle in

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your driveway, or maybe you’re parked down the hill in front of your house in

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the street, right? I’m sorry.

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Moving with confidence and staying alert in that transition space,

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as they call that, right?

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Looking around, looking in the vehicle before you get in it.

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If you have 10, I know it’s a little harder, but making it a point to make sure

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no one’s hunkered down in the backseat waiting, right, to carjack or kidnap you is a good thing.

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And staying off that phone equally is important. And I’m going to put this out

00:16:38.283 –> 00:16:41.443
there in the car theft arena as well as carjacking.

00:16:41.923 –> 00:16:47.883
Always lock your car and never leave your keys in your car.

00:16:48.143 –> 00:16:51.103
And we’ve talked about this before, but I’m going to say it again.

00:16:51.403 –> 00:16:54.523
Always lock your car and never leave your keys in your car.

00:16:54.803 –> 00:16:59.903
And this is just as important if you’re parked in your own driveway or your

00:16:59.903 –> 00:17:05.003
own carport as it is if you were parked at the grocery store parking lot.

00:17:05.203 –> 00:17:09.043
Lock your doors and don’t leave your keys in your cars.

00:17:09.663 –> 00:17:14.563
I’ve mentioned this before, but I did the equivalent of 24 hours of ride along

00:17:14.563 –> 00:17:16.863
with the local county police department.

00:17:17.343 –> 00:17:23.343
And most, if not, I think every single instance, not that that’s all we ran

00:17:23.343 –> 00:17:27.063
in that 24 hours, which was basically two 12-hour shifts.

00:17:27.323 –> 00:17:33.403
I want to say that every instance where there was something involving a vehicle,

00:17:33.643 –> 00:17:38.903
in every single case, those vehicles had been left unlocked on scene.

00:17:39.043 –> 00:17:43.483
If you leave your vehicle unlocked, especially if you leave stuff out in plain view…

00:17:44.296 –> 00:17:49.816
You probably can expect something to go wrong. So keep that stuff out of plain

00:17:49.816 –> 00:17:54.336
sight, lock it up and keep your doors locked and don’t leave your keys in your vehicle.

00:17:54.476 –> 00:17:59.696
I can’t emphasize those things enough and it certainly applies in the context

00:17:59.696 –> 00:18:03.876
of carjacking and how you can better avoid that.

00:18:04.096 –> 00:18:10.436
To extend the locking your doors, this also matters when you get into your car,

00:18:10.576 –> 00:18:14.096
especially if you’re out in public or in a downtown metropolitan area.

00:18:14.776 –> 00:18:18.496
Get in the habit of locking your car doors as soon as you get in.

00:18:18.676 –> 00:18:22.416
Don’t get in, sit down and sit there and get on your smartphone and start your

00:18:22.416 –> 00:18:24.236
Facebook and then your Instagramming.

00:18:24.536 –> 00:18:27.656
Lock your doors, crank your car, and get ready to go.

00:18:28.016 –> 00:18:31.836
You can do all that social media or whatever else stuff later,

00:18:31.836 –> 00:18:35.196
or you can make those calls through your Bluetooth unit, whatever,

00:18:35.856 –> 00:18:38.256
once you get on the road and moving and going.

00:18:38.576 –> 00:18:42.696
But it’s important that you keep those doors locked. And when you get into your

00:18:42.696 –> 00:18:45.056
car, keep looking in the mirrors.

00:18:45.236 –> 00:18:48.936
They put mirrors on the car for a reason. Yes, it’s usually while you’re driving

00:18:48.936 –> 00:18:54.256
and in traffic, but you can also rely on those reflective surfaces like we’ve

00:18:54.256 –> 00:18:56.716
talked about recently on Instagram.

00:18:57.116 –> 00:19:01.896
You can use your mirrors to make sure no one’s coming up to your car.

00:19:02.056 –> 00:19:05.336
And if they are, that’s your cue to get out of there, right? To drive off.

00:19:05.996 –> 00:19:10.536
So lock those car doors and lock them even after you’ve gotten into the car.

00:19:11.336 –> 00:19:14.876
A lot of people don’t do that. I highly recommend it. I’ll tell you a story.

00:19:15.176 –> 00:19:20.696
Years ago is when I was still a kid living at home. My mom worked in downtown Atlanta.

00:19:21.799 –> 00:19:26.979
And she came home one afternoon to tell the story of she was driving downtown

00:19:26.979 –> 00:19:29.619
city streets and she was at a red light.

00:19:29.899 –> 00:19:35.579
And a gentleman proceeded to open up the passenger side car door in the front

00:19:35.579 –> 00:19:40.779
seat, you know, the front passenger side car door and got in and sat down and

00:19:40.779 –> 00:19:42.539
closed the door behind him.

00:19:42.899 –> 00:19:48.019
And my mom obviously was driving the vehicle. It scared the you know what out of her.

00:19:48.319 –> 00:19:54.679
She didn’t know what to do. and she was very lucky because that guy had made a genuine mistake.

00:19:54.979 –> 00:20:00.579
He apologized profusely. He got back right back out of the car. He said he was sorry.

00:20:00.799 –> 00:20:05.899
He was looking to get picked up. His buddy or maybe even his wife had a similar

00:20:05.899 –> 00:20:11.139
looking car or maybe the exact same car, and he just assumed it was the right

00:20:11.139 –> 00:20:13.439
car and proceeded to get right back in.

00:20:14.199 –> 00:20:18.379
I mean, proceeded to get right in my mom’s car.

00:20:18.859 –> 00:20:25.079
What do you think my mom did from that point going forward for the rest of forever?

00:20:25.659 –> 00:20:27.079
That’s right. She locked the

00:20:27.079 –> 00:20:30.939
car doors when she was in it, whether she was driving in traffic or not.

00:20:31.439 –> 00:20:34.619
But that brings me to my next point. When you’re at red lights,

00:20:34.959 –> 00:20:37.979
you know, that car, those car doors should be locked.

00:20:38.439 –> 00:20:42.239
Ideally, especially if you’re in a congested downtown metropolitan area,

00:20:42.399 –> 00:20:44.419
you should be keeping those windows up.

00:20:44.559 –> 00:20:49.579
It’s very easy to someone to get ahold of a window and pull it out or stick a gun through the crack.

00:20:49.839 –> 00:20:52.699
These are just things you need to be thinking of considered.

00:20:52.739 –> 00:20:55.959
So when you’re sitting at those red lights, stay off those phones,

00:20:56.179 –> 00:21:01.919
use those mirrors to pay attention to your surrounding, keep doors locked and your windows up.

00:21:02.219 –> 00:21:07.239
It’ll go a long way just to make you feel better if nothing else and likely

00:21:07.239 –> 00:21:10.919
for anybody that’s got some devious attack planned.

00:21:11.798 –> 00:21:14.418
A couple of things that I’ve heard that are going on out there,

00:21:14.558 –> 00:21:19.298
and I don’t know with what regularity or frequency, you know, that they are.

00:21:19.458 –> 00:21:23.698
But one of the things I’ve seen in the media is this notion of,

00:21:23.718 –> 00:21:26.038
you know, bumping you in traffic.

00:21:27.438 –> 00:21:33.198
Perpetrator will bump you from behind. And then, of course, your reaction probably

00:21:33.198 –> 00:21:39.098
is to jump right out of your vehicle to see what the damage is and what the heck just happened.

00:21:39.098 –> 00:21:45.158
And what the precautions are that they’re recommending is that you not get out of your car.

00:21:45.398 –> 00:21:47.798
You stay in your car. You call 911.

00:21:48.438 –> 00:21:55.098
You wait for police to get there before you get out and do any of your own investigation,

00:21:55.338 –> 00:22:01.198
right? I suspect this is more in the, you know, high density metropolitan areas,

00:22:01.378 –> 00:22:03.418
but supposedly it is a thing.

00:22:03.538 –> 00:22:08.198
So I would caution you again, you know best where you are, or at least you should.

00:22:08.378 –> 00:22:13.918
Just be aware that this is a technique that is supposedly being used with more frequency.

00:22:14.778 –> 00:22:18.618
Again, they bump you from behind. They know that likely you’re going to get

00:22:18.618 –> 00:22:20.218
out of your vehicle to check it out.

00:22:20.898 –> 00:22:25.958
Don’t. You can call 911 if you’re really upset and you know where you are.

00:22:26.078 –> 00:22:28.398
Maybe you can drive to the nearest police department.

00:22:28.818 –> 00:22:35.318
If it’s after dark, maybe you can drive to that well-lit parking lot along your route, whatever,

00:22:35.598 –> 00:22:39.598
but key to stay in your car and not get out because they’re looking for that

00:22:39.598 –> 00:22:43.418
opportunity to, you know, point a gun at you or throw you down out of the way

00:22:43.418 –> 00:22:45.118
and jump in your car and drive off.

00:22:46.178 –> 00:22:53.558
Another one that I’ve heard and I don’t have any idea what frequency it happens at but I’ve heard that,

00:22:54.334 –> 00:23:00.074
you know, perpetrators might leave some denomination of cash underneath your front windshield.

00:23:00.314 –> 00:23:03.574
And of course, you know, if you’re like most folks, myself included,

00:23:03.814 –> 00:23:07.554
you don’t notice those pesky pamphlets that have been left behind until you’re

00:23:07.554 –> 00:23:10.094
already behind your steering wheel.

00:23:10.514 –> 00:23:14.514
So if it’s cash you see out there, and again, I don’t know if this is a thing

00:23:14.514 –> 00:23:19.734
that’s happening or happening regularly, but if you ever get in your car and

00:23:19.734 –> 00:23:21.674
you see some denomination of

00:23:21.994 –> 00:23:27.494
cash, money stuck underneath your windshield wiper, whatever there in front

00:23:27.494 –> 00:23:32.894
of your viewing space, just know that’s might be a technique to get you out of your car.

00:23:33.074 –> 00:23:36.634
And again, the goal being to take the car from you to carjack you.

00:23:36.754 –> 00:23:38.614
So just be aware of some of these things.

00:23:38.914 –> 00:23:42.914
And really, it’s just about thinking through, you know, locking your car doors,

00:23:43.054 –> 00:23:48.234
not lollygagging, not doodling around, you know, being moving with purpose,

00:23:48.434 –> 00:23:51.854
you know, and getting back home safely. that’s really what it all comes down to.

00:23:52.694 –> 00:23:56.254
One of the things that I’ve mentioned, but just want to put some emphasis on it.

00:23:56.414 –> 00:23:59.754
If you, whether you’re, you have a vehicle stolen,

00:24:00.194 –> 00:24:03.974
you know, whether someone steals a vehicle out of the parking lot while you

00:24:03.974 –> 00:24:05.814
were at the mall or the grocery store,

00:24:05.974 –> 00:24:10.594
or they take it out of your driveway, or if they just break into your vehicle,

00:24:10.714 –> 00:24:13.434
taking that something that you shouldn’t have, you know, you shouldn’t have

00:24:13.434 –> 00:24:17.474
left in the car, but maybe you did because you figured, I’ll get it in the morning

00:24:17.474 –> 00:24:19.034
and I’m home, I should be safe.

00:24:19.654 –> 00:24:23.334
Whatever it is, especially if you’ve been carjacked or you’ve had your car stolen,

00:24:23.554 –> 00:24:28.014
you want to call the police, if nothing else, to have a police report filed.

00:24:28.768 –> 00:24:34.848
Will your car be recovered? Will things be made right by law enforcement? I can’t say.

00:24:35.108 –> 00:24:40.008
Hopefully they’re able to do their jobs and investigate and have your property returned to you.

00:24:40.208 –> 00:24:45.628
In either case, filing a police report when you’ve been made a victim of a crime

00:24:45.628 –> 00:24:50.228
serves another purpose besides hopefully having that crime resolved,

00:24:50.228 –> 00:24:56.348
but it also serves the purpose of making an official complaint to local law enforcement.

00:24:56.508 –> 00:25:02.348
And if nothing else, This is going to allow them to keep track of the sorts

00:25:02.348 –> 00:25:06.268
and types of complaints that are coming in for your neighborhood or your city

00:25:06.268 –> 00:25:12.468
or town so they can better decide what they need to do for an overall game plan.

00:25:12.468 –> 00:25:19.168
So, you know, the more car theft, let’s just say, police reports that are filed,

00:25:19.428 –> 00:25:23.888
they may light bulbs may go off for them and say, hey, we’ve had a rash of break

00:25:23.888 –> 00:25:27.048
ins in this particular neighborhood or this side of town.

00:25:27.048 –> 00:25:32.728
We need to do something more in that neighborhood or on that side of town.

00:25:32.728 –> 00:25:40.308
So police reports have more purpose than just reporting the crime itself and

00:25:40.308 –> 00:25:42.008
hopefully having the crime solved.

00:25:42.008 –> 00:25:47.428
It also helps as kind of a data collection point for law enforcement so they

00:25:47.428 –> 00:25:52.068
know better how to plan and go about a plan of attack themselves to thwart any

00:25:52.068 –> 00:25:54.928
further crime going on in your area.

00:25:55.008 –> 00:25:59.228
So I highly recommend you filing a police report regardless of the crime that’s

00:25:59.228 –> 00:26:03.168
been committed to you, against you, I should say.

00:26:04.068 –> 00:26:08.528
So let’s talk about whether you’ve done everything right or not,

00:26:08.548 –> 00:26:13.728
and you find yourself in this situation of being carjacked. It depends, right?

00:26:14.409 –> 00:26:18.989
But the general rule of thumb, I will tell you, is, again, a carjacking generally

00:26:18.989 –> 00:26:24.409
involves some sort of assault or violence, or at very least the threat of violence,

00:26:24.589 –> 00:26:29.989
whether that be beating you up on the outside the side of your car or putting

00:26:29.989 –> 00:26:33.689
a gun in your face, or even being willing to kill you for your car,

00:26:33.809 –> 00:26:40.029
which is not beyond the realm of possibility, especially in today’s climate, right?

00:26:40.849 –> 00:26:45.789
You need to think about what you’re going to do. And we’ve talked about in past

00:26:45.789 –> 00:26:48.849
podcasts, too, the importance of thinking through scenarios.

00:26:48.849 –> 00:26:53.069
And I highly recommend that you go back and listen to that podcast of ours as

00:26:53.069 –> 00:26:57.329
well, where we talk about the importance of scenarios. And what does that mean?

00:26:57.569 –> 00:27:03.169
It means that you need to think about possibility of bad things happening to

00:27:03.169 –> 00:27:06.649
you and put yourself into various situations. Right.

00:27:07.243 –> 00:27:12.563
The goal being is that you’re going to think about what you would do in a particular situation.

00:27:12.863 –> 00:27:17.803
And it has been proven time and time again that anyone that has a game plan

00:27:17.803 –> 00:27:21.143
ahead of time, they’ve thought through a situation, a scenario,

00:27:21.423 –> 00:27:23.283
and they’ve come up with a game plan.

00:27:23.283 –> 00:27:30.303
Even if it’s not the ideal game plan, the perfect response, or even the right

00:27:30.303 –> 00:27:34.923
response, they’re going to be better off than someone that’s completely oblivious

00:27:34.923 –> 00:27:38.223
and hasn’t given any thought to any scenarios whatsoever.

00:27:38.823 –> 00:27:44.463
So as you’re thinking through scenarios of possible potential bad things that

00:27:44.463 –> 00:27:46.803
could happen, include carjacking.

00:27:47.063 –> 00:27:50.943
Think about what you would do, where you’re at, what are the surroundings.

00:27:51.603 –> 00:27:57.163
And based on all those criterias and circumstances and context of the scenario

00:27:57.163 –> 00:28:02.403
that you’ve created for yourself, figure out what you would do in that scenario.

00:28:03.263 –> 00:28:07.763
But I’m going to tell you, and again, I’m not going to give legal advice here

00:28:07.763 –> 00:28:11.503
because I’m no lawyer and I don’t even want to pretend to be or try to be,

00:28:11.563 –> 00:28:14.443
but I’m going to tell you that generally speaking,

00:28:14.923 –> 00:28:19.363
a vehicle like your purse, your wallet, your iPhone, whatever.

00:28:19.363 –> 00:28:20.843
It’s just a piece of property.

00:28:21.063 –> 00:28:27.583
You have to figure for yourself, is this piece of property worth me getting

00:28:27.583 –> 00:28:30.063
severely hurt or even killed over?

00:28:30.263 –> 00:28:34.743
Is this vehicle worth me getting hurt or killed over?

00:28:34.963 –> 00:28:43.543
I think, ego aside, macho men, gunslinger mentality aside, I think Most people,

00:28:43.843 –> 00:28:45.343
if they were honest with themselves,

00:28:45.743 –> 00:28:54.163
would say, no, my vehicle, my Honda Accord, my Toyota Yaris,

00:28:54.183 –> 00:28:57.743
whatever, is not worth me getting shot in the face over.

00:28:58.430 –> 00:29:06.650
I say that to say, generally speaking, you probably might be better off complying more often than not.

00:29:06.930 –> 00:29:08.910
That’s what insurance is for, right?

00:29:09.990 –> 00:29:15.430
So I want to put that out there. Now, there’s a couple of things to consider beyond that.

00:29:15.470 –> 00:29:20.290
And only you can make these decisions for yourself. I can’t recommend or tell

00:29:20.290 –> 00:29:22.790
you what to do. You’ve got to figure it out for yourself.

00:29:23.470 –> 00:29:27.270
And it’s why thinking through scenarios ahead of time is important.

00:29:28.430 –> 00:29:33.970
I recommend personally complying. However, you need to be listening to your

00:29:33.970 –> 00:29:35.850
gut and your instincts as well.

00:29:35.990 –> 00:29:43.190
If you feel like this individual has the intent of murdering you anyway,

00:29:43.570 –> 00:29:50.130
then you might want to respond differently if you feel confident and you have the know-how to do so.

00:29:50.270 –> 00:29:51.570
I’m not telling you that’s what

00:29:51.570 –> 00:29:55.390
you should do. I’m saying this becomes an option at that moment in time.

00:29:56.910 –> 00:29:59.990
Let’s say you get carjacked and your baby’s in

00:29:59.990 –> 00:30:02.630
the car seat in the back seat are you going

00:30:02.630 –> 00:30:06.250
to let that in are you going to comply and let that individual take your car

00:30:06.250 –> 00:30:11.070
with your baby in the car seat in the back seat i suspect many of you aren’t

00:30:11.070 –> 00:30:15.590
going to want to do that again i’m not telling you what the right answer is

00:30:15.590 –> 00:30:20.150
or what you should do i’m saying here’s an exception to complying,

00:30:20.430 –> 00:30:24.790
that you might want to consider not complying for.

00:30:25.570 –> 00:30:30.570
And another one, which is my absolute, and I will tell you this recommendation,

00:30:31.010 –> 00:30:36.350
if the perpetrator expects you to get in the car or wants to put you in the

00:30:36.350 –> 00:30:39.430
trunk and take you to a second location,

00:30:39.430 –> 00:30:46.150
you fight like you are the third monkey trying to find a place on the ark.

00:30:46.926 –> 00:30:51.346
Crimes that involved a single location, location A, location 1,

00:30:51.466 –> 00:30:52.506
whatever you want to call it,

00:30:52.746 –> 00:30:56.986
have a 90% survival rate, and this is general-like not precise,

00:30:56.986 –> 00:31:07.286
have a 90% chance of survival, a 90% survival rate, and a 10% chance of dying or being killed.

00:31:07.286 –> 00:31:15.306
When a location B or location number two spot becomes a thing and part of the

00:31:15.306 –> 00:31:18.206
equation, those numbers flip-flop.

00:31:18.346 –> 00:31:25.806
You have a 10% chance of survival and a 90% chance of being killed or dying.

00:31:26.986 –> 00:31:33.606
If the the situation arises where they’ve asked asking you or demanding you

00:31:33.606 –> 00:31:38.146
to get in that car because they want to take you someplace or want to take you

00:31:38.146 –> 00:31:40.026
along on their little joy ride,

00:31:40.566 –> 00:31:45.466
you do everything you can to get out of that situation and does that mean the

00:31:45.466 –> 00:31:49.626
moment that they put you in the car whatever no because if they got a gun in

00:31:49.626 –> 00:31:52.166
your face you got to be smart but I’m telling you right now,

00:31:52.306 –> 00:31:56.366
you need to be planning to fight and fight like your life depended on it.

00:31:56.626 –> 00:32:02.066
It’s not to scare you. It’s to be realistic and tell you that is an exception

00:32:02.066 –> 00:32:06.166
to your compliance policy that you might institute for yourself.

00:32:07.298 –> 00:32:10.998
So with that, I’m going to let you go. It’s been another great podcast.

00:32:11.198 –> 00:32:15.458
Again, 48. Here we are. I can’t believe it. Four years doing these, one a month.

00:32:16.218 –> 00:32:20.158
Some people ask me, well, are you going to increase the frequency, do more?

00:32:20.298 –> 00:32:24.038
And I’m like, I’m doing good to get these out once a month with my busy schedule.

00:32:24.178 –> 00:32:27.598
I have a full-time job. And so this is just what I do as my hobby.

00:32:27.758 –> 00:32:31.278
And again, I just want to try to help folks and put some of the information

00:32:31.278 –> 00:32:36.438
that I have floating around in my noggin out into the universe and maybe put

00:32:36.438 –> 00:32:38.778
some good karma out there too along the way.

00:32:38.978 –> 00:32:42.798
So anyway, I want to leave you and look, thank you again for listening.

00:32:43.018 –> 00:32:46.318
There’s a lot of choices out there. You could be just listening to your radio.

00:32:46.558 –> 00:32:51.338
There’s certain a lot more probably overall entertaining podcasts in the world

00:32:51.338 –> 00:32:55.218
than having to do with self-defense and personal safety, but I think it’s important.

00:32:55.218 –> 00:32:58.058
And you chose to listen to this, which means you

00:32:58.058 –> 00:33:00.938
at least have some interest and i would encourage you

00:33:00.938 –> 00:33:03.978
to keep continuing seeking that interest getting

00:33:03.978 –> 00:33:07.318
training getting knowledge getting education and look

00:33:07.318 –> 00:33:10.358
if you like what you’re listening here go back to listen

00:33:10.358 –> 00:33:15.978
to podcast 11 safety in and around vehicles listen to our podcast on the importance

00:33:15.978 –> 00:33:20.538
of thinking through scenarios and if you like what you hear keep listening keep

00:33:20.538 –> 00:33:24.478
coming back we love having you here and be sure and tell all your friend family

00:33:24.478 –> 00:33:27.398
and friends about us and we’ll see you the next time.