Aware and Prepared: A Guide to Personal Safety and Security for Everyone This self-help guide provides advice and tips for staying safe and protecting your valuables in your home, in your car, and while traveling. Crime can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. But there are ways to thwart the possibility of crime. In Aware and Prepared, author Ronald Hanzel provides advice and tips for staying safe and protecting the items you value the most. Hanzel covers an array of safety issues and demonstrates the key concepts of being aware of your surroundings and ... [Find out more ...]Shopping is supposed to be safe and enjoyable. And most of the time, personal safety is not on the mind of most shoppers. Unfortunately, criminals are always on the lookout for easy preys. And what better victim than a woman with armful of goodies making her way back to her car in a poorly lit parking lot.
There is nothing more impressive than shopping in mega malls with more stores than you can ever visit in a year. As the malls get bigger and bigger, so are the parking lots. Bigger parking lots mean more and more women have to park what seems to be forever far away from their final destinations. There is no doubt that it is good exercise to make that trek. However, it is fraught with potential risks such as vandalism, theft, robbery, assault, rape, and even kidnapping.
Here are some safety tips for women to avoid potential trouble in the parking lot:
- Try to do all your shopping during the day.
- Shop with other adults such as relatives, neighbors or friends.
- Park in well-lit area as close to the entrance as possible.
- Lock your car immediately after you got out.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Keep an eye on the people around and behind you.
- Listen to your inner voice. It is better and wiser to be safe than sorry.
- If you are not comfortable with getting to your car by yourself or if something just doesn’t feel right, ask a manager or security guard to walk you to your vehicle. You can never be too cautious.
- Approach your vehicle with your keys ready in your hand.
- When you are getting close to your car, look in, around and underneath your car. Be suspicious of large vehicle parked next to yours.
- Once inside your car, lock all doors right away and keep your windows up.
Distractions are plentiful while shopping. It is too easy to become complacent and not be alert of potential danger. The possibilities of trouble grow the further away you are from the stores. It will be naive and irresponsible to believe nothing bad will ever happen to you. But with a little bit of caution and vigilant, shopping can be both safe and enjoyable.
