Vehicle Security - Part Three
More About Carjacking
As auto anti-theft systems have gotten more difficult to overcome, the crime of carjacking has increased. Why try to defeat a sophisticated anti-theft system when you can simply take a vehicle from the driver after all anti-theft safeguards have been deactivated? Carjacking can happen anywhere but mostly occurs in urban commercial areas while the driver is entering or exiting a parked vehicle.
Over 90% of carjacking occur in urban or suburban areas
In a national survey 93% of carjackers were male
In the same survey a weapon was used in 74% of carjacking
45% firearms
11% knives
18% other weapons
Places carjacking occur:
44% open areas, such as along a street
24% garages, parking lots, and near commercial areas (malls, gas stations, restaurants, office buildings)
Carjacking happens frequently at intersections while a car is stopped and blocked by vehicles front and back. To prevent this, do not stop too close to the car ahead of you. To allow yourself room to pull around the car ahead, the rule of thumb is to stop far enough back that you can see where that car's rear tires touch the pavement. Obviously if you are in a center lane with cars on both sides the ability to pull around the car ahead is useless. For that reason it is preferable to be in the far left or right lane if possible.
Another technique carjackers use is to bump your vehicle from behind to stage a minor accident. When you emerge to assess the damage or to exchange information the carjackers will rob you of your vehicle and its contents. For that reason if you are bumped from behind, especially by a car occupied by males, don’t be in a hurry to get out of your car. Keep the doors locked and windows up and call the police. If the occupants of the car approach you, tell them the police have been notified and are on the way.
In general if you are being pulled from your car or threatened with a weapon it is safer to just let them take the vehicle without resisting. A car can be replaced, your life cannot. An exception, of course, is when there are children or an elderly or disabled person in your car. Tell the carjacker that they can have the car after you have retrieved your child or other person. It is possible that a carjacker will abandon their plan once they are informed of a child in the car so they are not facing abduction charges in addition to car theft. If they try to leave with a vulnerable person in your vehicle, you will have to make an immediate personal decision regarding your ability and willingness to resist. The best way to resist an attacker is to attack back, i.e., to attack them as violently and powerfully as you are able. Attack without mercy or hesitation. This is not a sporting contest or a fair fight, there are no rules. As a guide, read the rules of boxing and mixed martial arts. Do you see everything that is prohibited? Feel free to do all of them against your attacker. I’ll publish a separate piece on “attacking back” in the future.
Being Followed
Chances are if you are being followed in your car, it’s not a sophisticated government rolling surveillance conducted by multiple vehicles. If it is, you probably won’t notice that you’re being followed without having had a very high level of training. I won’t be discussing evasive driving either. No bootlegger turns are taught here.
If you suspect you are being followed, it is most likely a stalker, someone who didn’t like how you drove (road rage) or someone one acting in a predatory manner. The common methods of determining whether you are being followed are fairly well known. Here are some common methods, along with a few more advanced tradecraft methods of determining whether you are being followed in your vehicle :
Making a 180° U-turn and observing how other vehicles react
Driving through a mall or shopping center parking lot and leaving while watching for another vehicle to follow suit
Making a series of left or right turns to go completely around a block. There is no likely reason for another vehicle to do the same unless they are following you.
On a freeway with a long exit, enter the exit lane while slowing down. At the point of exit, quickly drive back onto the freeway and see if any following car mirrors your action.
On highways with a breakdown lane, pull into the breakdown lane and stop. A following car will almost certainly have to continue on in order to not be conspicuous. They will not know when you intend to continue driving and you may actually successfully lose them.
On highways with toll booths (Welcome to Illinois!) go to the booth with the longest line. Most drivers will select shorter lines. Be suspicious of any vehicle that also opts for the long line.
Most people are content to take main routes. If you drive back streets and shortcuts, observe any other vehicles doing the same.
If your car drives over a hill (or sharp turn) that will make a following car momentarily lose sight of you, quickly pull over and stop on the other side of the hill and look for any reaction in the suspected following vehicle.
If you determine or strongly suspect you are indeed being followed:
Do NOT go to your destination (especially if it is your home or workplace). This may be precisely what the person following wants to know.
Do call the police and tell them you are being followed by a suspicious vehicle
Head to a safe location (hopefully you have planned your route and already know the locations):
Police station
Fire station
Hospital
Military base
Airport
Any business or industry with 24 hour security
Grocery stores or gas stations, the busier the better
Attacked From Within Your Vehicle
If you are attacked from inside your vehicle because someone has hidden inside or enters the passenger side door (Remember Part 1, I advised you to always check the back seat of any vehicle before getting in, and to lock doors as soon as you get inside your car!) your first response is to try to get out of the car. If you have activated child locks on your car it may not be possible to open other doors to escape if an attacker shoves you over and enters the driver’s door behind you. Don’t use child locks except when necessary. Fight with everything you have if a criminal wants to take you with them to another location. They want more than your purse, wallet or car if they are trying to relocate you.
If you have the misfortune of being attacked by someone in the back seat it is very difficult to fight them from the front seat. You have to take the fight to them in the back seat. Release your seatbelt if it is on, and lower the back of the seat and use your legs to push yourself into the back seat and take the fight to them. In the close quarters of the interior of a vehicle some weapons are not easy to use. For example it is difficult to swing that baseball bat you keep with you. Practice jabbing with it instead. If you employ pepper spray (OC) inside a vehicle, it will likely affect both you and your attacker. It is possible to continue to fight even while under the effects of pepper spray, but it is far from ideal. A sticky gel pepper spray is less likely to affect you as it is the person you sprayed, but there’s still a good chance you will feel the effects. A knife will be the most effective weapon inside close quarters that you are likely to have. A fixed blade knife is best because it may not be possible to open a folder during a struggle. Carry your knife where you can quickly gain access to it.
If you find yourself, somehow, in the trunk of your car, make sure you are familiar with the location and operation of the emergency trunk release. Don’t forget to call 911 if you are inside a trunk and still have your phone on you.
Gunfighting and Vehicles
If your vehicle is operational it is both your primary means of escape and your primary weapon. A moving vehicle is much more powerful than a gun. The force of a bullet is calculated in foot pounds of energy. A typical 115 grain 9mm round traveling at 1180 feet per second generates 355 foot pounds of energy. By comparison, a 2000 pound vehicle traveling at 30 miles per hour generates 60,199 foot pounds of energy. At just 10 MPH the energy generated is about the same as an elephant gun. Because a vehicle can be used as a powerful weapon, it should only be used as such in circumstances where you would be justified in the use of deadly force. In Wisconsin, deadly force can only be used lawfully in self-defense to prevent or terminate imminent death or great bodily harm to yourself or another person. “Imminent” means it is about to happen at that very moment. So, except for very rare circumstances, regard your vehicle as a means of escaping danger. Putting distance between yourself and danger is one of the best things you can do. Even if someone is shooting at you, the more distance you put between you and the shooter the less likely you will be hit. Also as distance increases the ability of bullets to penetrate your vehicle decreases. Bullets lose energy as they travel. Just adding a few yards may greatly reduce the ability for rounds to penetrate the body of your car.
What about using a gun for protection inside a vehicle? Assuming you can’t drive away from the danger, there are a number of things to consider before you pull your pistol inside a car. Forget about a moving vehicle gunfight. They occur more in the movies than in real life, and it takes specialized training to develop these skills. If you are driving, concentrate on driving, not shooting.
How you wear your gun may not be suited for inside a vehicle.
Holster placement should include thought to your ability to draw your gun inside the vehicle. A lot of people have never drawn a firearm while seated. If, for example, you carry a gun in a pocket holster you will find it necessary to go through contortions to draw the gun while seated.
Will the seat belt impede your ability to draw a gun on your belt? Usually the answer is no. More likely is that your covering garment will impede the draw if it is belted over your gun. Make it a habit of not putting the seat belt over your covering jacket or coat. Fasten your seat belt, and then move the garment over the seat belt to conceal the firearm. Simply brush the jacket away and draw your gun.
Drawing inside the car:
Frequently there is a concern that when you draw the gun from the driver’s seat the gun will hit the steering wheel. Savvy gun carriers practice drawing inside the vehicle. The most common way to deal with the steering wheels is to avoid entangling the gun by drawing it and keeping it above the steering wheel, and sliding your hands holding the gun on the outer edge of the steering wheel to move it left or right in a semi-circular motion. Practice with empty hands or a toy or training gun.
Shooting from inside a vehicle:
It’s going to be very loud!
Unless you have a revolver, there will be hot empty cartridge cases flying inside the passenger compartment.
If you must shoot through glass, try to put the muzzle close or against the window. This helps you shoot through the same hole (approximately) again and again, reducing the amount of glass coming back at you. It also minimizes damage to the windshield that may impede your vision if it has holes and cracks scattered over a wide area.
If you are being shot at while you are in your unmovable vehicle:
Get out of the vehicle! Unless it is an armored vehicle it offers very little protection against incoming rounds.
Open the door and slide to the ground, on the side of the vehicle opposite of the direction of incoming rounds. This is something you can practice. This includes getting the seatbelt off without it tangling you in it. In the driver’s seat, release the seat belt lock with your right hand and slide your left hand under the belt and sweep it away toward the door. This is a technique you will want to practice and perfect.
You are in a much better position to fight when you are outside your vehicle. You have mobility and cover. Take cover behind the engine block if possible, or behind the wheels. These are the parts of a vehicle that have the best chance of stopping incoming fire. If the incoming rounds are coming from the front or back of the vehicle, put the entire length of the vehicle between you and incoming rounds and stay low so the engine block continues to function as cover.
You will expose less of your body if you return fire from the side of the vehicle rather than shooting across the hood or roof.
Don’t be predictable by popping up from the same spot to shoot. Shoot from high, low, from the left, from the right. And…
You can go prone and shoot from under the vehicle as well.
If you have the ability to get to a spot that offers better cover, go there. If you have the ability to escape completely, do it.
A Gun Inside the Vehicle (Legal Stuff)
In addition to your physical security, you want to stay out of jail!
Be sure that you are transporting all firearms in accordance with the laws in effect for wherever you are traveling.
Keep in mind that the rules in effect on federal land and facilities may differ from those of the state in which the federal property is located.
Each state has its own laws. What may be perfectly legal in some states may be a felony in another.
Some states may allow local regulation of firearms that is more stringent than the state laws. (Fortunately Wisconsin is not such a state.)
Before traveling outside of your state with a firearm, I recommend checking two websites that provide summaries of each state’s firearms and concealed carry laws:
Because each jurisdiction has its own laws, you may encounter restrictions that are different from your home area when you travel. Here are some of the more important differences you may find in other states. The websites cited above are good resources.
Is your concealed carry permit or license valid in another state?
Which states have adopted “Constitutional Carry” and do not require a permit or license to carry a concealed handgun (nearly half of all states!)
The places where gun are prohibited varies from state-to-state (examples, day care facilities, government buildings, sporting events, churches)
Some states, (e.g.,Florida) require strict concealment. You must ensure that the firearm is undetectable under your clothing and that you do not inadvertently expose the weapon when in these states.
Whether you are required to immediately notify the police that you are an armed permit holder when pulled over for a traffic stop
Whether you can consume alcohol while carrying a concealed weapon, or how much you are allowed to consume
The legal effect of “no guns” signs varies
Police Stopping Your Vehicle
Following speed limits and other rules of the road tends to reduce your chances of being pulled over by the police
Know whether you are in a jurisdiction where you are legally obligated to notify the police that you are licensed for concealed carry and are armed.
If you are inside such a jurisdiction, notify the police office immediately
If you are unsure whether you are required to notify, the prudent action is to notify the police officer
If you are not legally obligated to notify the police it is your choice whether or not to notify the police officer. It is better to have decided ahead of time what your personal policy will be so you are not debating with yourself as the officer approaches your car!
If you are not obligated to inform the police officer, but still he or she asks whether you have any weapons in the vehicle, you cannot be compelled to answer the question. Your choices are to provide an honest answer, or to decline to answer the question. Do not give false statements to the police. Remain silent or answer honestly.
If you’re curious, my personal approach is this: If I am in a place where I am not legally obligated to inform the police officer about my gun, and they do not ask, I do not inform them that I am armed. Why not? Because traffic stops are hazardous and stressful for the police. I see no reason to add to their level of stress by telling them I’m armed. However, I will inform the police officer that I have a gun if they are bound to see it. For example, if an officer asked me to step out of the car to see that my taillight is burnt out and they are going to see the gun on my hip, I will make sure to notify them verbally. I don’t want their awareness of my gun to be when their eyes first notice it. I do that both as a courtesy and with the intention of keeping officer stress to a minimum. Keep in mind that many police officers make it part of their routine to always ask if there are weapons in a stopped vehicle. I’ve been pulled over a few times and it’s been 50/50 whether the police officer asks. What has been your experience with the police while carrying a gun? What is your policy? Put them in the comments!
Regardless of why you’ve been pulled over, remain calm and speak to the police in a normal tone. Police tune in on nervous behavior. I speak with them in the same manner that I speak when ordering a meal.
The “Castle Doctrine” Applies to Vehicles In Wisconsin
Your vehicle is one of the three “castles” under the state’s “Castle Doctrine” law. The Castle Doctrine is a portion of the state’s self-defense law that applies in three locations: your dwelling, your place of business and your vehicle. The Castle Doctrine is contained within Chapter 939.48 of Wisconsin Statutes. The main provisions of the Wisconsin Castle Doctrine include:
The Castle Doctrine provisions apply if you are inside one of the 3 “castles” and…
You know or reasonably believe that an unlawful AND forcible entry is occurring (or the person has already entered unlawfully and forcibly)
Your ability to retreat, flee or escape will not be considered by the court
You are already considered to be in a place of retreat when in one of the “castles”
The court will presume that you reasonably believed force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm was necessary
In other words, it will become the great burden of prosecution to prove otherwise
When acting within the Castle Doctrine you are afforded immunity from civil liability if you injure or kill the person engaged in unlawful entry.
If the person you injure tries to sue you, (or the survivors of someone killed try to sue) you can make them pay your attorney and court costs, plus lost wages, and any other reasonable expenses incurred.
A difficulty with the Castle Doctrine in Wisconsin is that beyond the wording of the statute, there is little to go on. Courts have made few interpretations of this portion of the law.
NOTE: For the Castle Doctrine to apply to your vehicle, you must be INSIDE the vehicle at the time. If someone is forcibly and unlawfully breaking into your vehicle while you do not occupy it, you are only defending property unless they threaten or attack you. Wisconsin’s defense of property law is much more restrictive in the use of force. See Chapter 939.49 Wisconsin Statutes for defense of property.
Let me know in the comments if there are other areas pertaining to personal security in and around vehicles that you would like me to cover.
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