'Operation Safe Summer:' How to avoid being carjacked

What would you do if you came face to face with a carjacker? In our latest 'Operation Safe Summer,' we talked to a tactical expert about how to act if car crooks target you -- and how to avoid the situation completely. “Most criminals are not looking to do a specific crime at a specific place to a specific person, they’re 100% opportunists,” says Greg Hamilton, co-owner of Insights Training. He teaches survival tactics to thousands every year and that includes ways to avoid being car jacked. “Getting into the vehicle and getting the vehicle moving versus getting the vehicle stopped and getting out. Those transitional times are when people exploit you,” Hamilton explains. Getting in and out quickly is important, but the way you approach your vehicle is also key. Hamilton says, “We have some tactics when approaching our car: One, we don’t want to approach in a direct line. So if I was walking in a parking lot and came from one row away and made an “L” in for the last 50 feet or so, that allows me to see what was behind me. It allows anybody that was keying on me, they may have been planning on me going into a different location.” And once inside your car, lock your door and start it immediately. “Then the next thing I’m going to do is start the vehicle, and get it in gear, and then put my seatbelt on, Hamilton points out. “Because a vehicle that’s in gear is a weapon. But if it’s not running and in gear, you’re a sitting duck.”

He also keeps some less lethal protection in his truck just in case. “The reason we have pepper spray somewhere near our door handle or our window, is a concept that the bad guys use and we need to use also it’s called “cover for action” it’s kind of a spy term,” Hamilton says. Basically, it allows for you to reach for something without signaling the bad guy that you’ve got a surprise. “If you’re reaching to an unusual spot, that’s noticeable. And people key off that and they’ll prevent you from doing that. But if I’m doing something like opening my door or rolling down my window, if that’s the movement then there’s no reason for that person to react to my movement, and I have the element of surprise.” Experts says that using a club on your steering wheel can drastically improve your chances of keeping bad guys from stealing your car, but if the worst case scenario does happen, and you are faced with someone trying to steal your car with you in it, Hamilton says there’s only one thing to do, “Drive away. Have your car in gear and hit the gas.” He says to use of the thousands of pounds of horse power to your advantage, no matter what. “If someone’s trying to car jack you,” Hamilton explains, “you should drive, no matter what’s in front of you whether you’re smashing other cars, whether you’re running red lights. Many people, the reason they submitted is because they didn’t want to smash that car in front of them or run that red light, that’s the thoughts that went through their minds. So they were trying to participate in a civil society while under the duress of crime.” As always, the best way to avoid being picked for this type of crime is simply by being aware and showing it. Hamilton adds, “It’s not the fact that you have three kids and tons of shopping bags and it takes you three minutes or five minutes to put everything in the car, that’s not what’s getting you picked a victim. It’s whether you look like you’re completely unorganized and unaware and incapable of protecting yourself.”