U Be Safe Now

1 year ago this month my apartment burglarized, right down to the brand new bedspread - it still had the creases in it from the packaging! So when my company offered a seminar on how to be safer, I felt the information was priceless. Here is some of what I learned:

Did you know?

• Every 14.6 seconds a burglary takes place in the US
• Most burglaries take place between 10am and 3pm
• The typical burglar is a male teen who lives within a couple of miles away from you
• Homes without security systems are 3 times more likely to be broken into than those with security systems
• Cell phones are wired to call 911 without needing a service plan or provider

Be SAFE OUTDOORS

Ladies, lets say a man walks up to you and says, "You're the woman of my dreams and I've just got to possess your body." You think about it because he's kinda cute and that's just some new pick up line, but eventually resist. Subsequently he threatens you with violence if you don't go with him; the best course of action is always to:

Drop Dead

No, seriously. Faking an urgent ailment can actually save your life.

Call public attention to yourself. Get other people vested in your interests

Even if your would-be attacker tells you not to make a sound, do not walk away with an attacker to a secondary location. Fake a heart attack if you have to; other people will immediately come to your aid.

BE SAFE AS YOU SHOP

We are approaching the holiday season when we love to 'shop til we drop'; as the holidays approach, more and more ne'er do wells also enjoy shopping - from your wallet. If you're leaving from a shopping area and you forgot to check in your car for unauthorized occupants, and you pull off to find someone threatening you from the back seat, the recommended course of action is to:

Crash

No, seriously; this is you calling public attention to yourself as described above. Nothing serious, just a tap perhaps should do the trick.

Drive your vehicle into a tree or pole in an open space.

By doing so, you draw attention to yourself. Other people will come to help and the would-be attacker will simply walk away attempting to blend into the crowd. I'm not saying wrap yourself around the light pole, but going away with a stranger to an unknown location alone will only minimize your chances of coming back alive.

BE SAFE ON THE STREET

What's the street value of your life?

Muggers are, generally speaking, drug addicts looking to get high. The cost of getting high these days? Around $20. $20 may save your life one day. Live Safe America's VP and primary trainer, Arnold Passman suggests carrying a "give-away" wallet. Put $20 in it with pics of people you may or may not know. Put those fake credit cards you get with junk mail, you know the kind that have the name "Lee Cardholder". If you find yourself in a bad scene, put your real wallet in your armpit or somewhere hidden and give the would-be mugger the "give-away".

BE SAFE AT HOME

Why pepper spray may be better than a baseball bat

Well, think of it this way, do you really want to wait for an intruder to meet you at the top of the stairs before you greet him with the crack of a bat over his head? Pepper spray, which has a range of between 8 to 25 feet depending on which one you purchase, can halt a burglar in his tracks. And, as his eyes begin to swell, sting and tear up, you can hide safely in your or your children's room until help arrives. Also, in our litigious society, you may very well end up in civil court before a jury of his/their peers with a legal fee of a whopping 50 grand for damages. It has been known to happen. Be on the safer side with pepper spray.

BE SAFE ON THE ROAD

Beating Road Rage

You know, the Bible records in Proverbs that a soft answer turns away wrath, so when I learned this in my safety seminar I took note. 1 safe, inexpensive way to quench another driver's anger, whether justified or not [meaning you may very well want to flip them the bird and you're the one who's wrong] is to carry a medium sized cardboard sign with bold black lettering that simply says

"SORRY"

Try it; what have you got to lose? Don't let pride [the need to be right] stop you from getting away from a bad scene safely.

These are just some of the things I learned in a very informative hour. Something might stick, or you may forget some things, but remember you gotta do what you gotta do to be safe. Its easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble. Its easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble

You don't want to be running down the street thinking of a plan, get one now; you have to know what to do before you're in a bad situation.

For more info, visit livesafeamerica.com