Evolutionary Self-Protection

It’s that time of year when the nights are getting longer and colder, the days are getting shorter and colder, and the weather is getting wetter and colder. Oh yes, and it’s getting colder!

One result of this is that at the end of the day (or night) a lot of us will be getting into a taxi for our journey home. Let’s face it, it’s either that, get home wet and/or freezing cold after an unpleasant walk, or wetter and colder after a worse wait at a bus stop. If your bus service is anything like mine, then it could be a very long wait followed by a disgruntled walk anyway!

This reminded me of the fact that I’ve been meaning to throw these ideas up for absolutely ages, ever since I saw a little flyer made by the union at Staffordshire University (www.staffsunion.com) on the subject of staying safe while getting a taxi. As a result, here are eight small but absolutely crucial personal security considerations when using taxis:

1) Always pre-order your taxi. If you can, try your very best to pre-book your taxi in advance with a company you know and trust. Preferably one you’ve used before. This way your lift is more easily verifiable (if you order an ‘A-Team’ taxi and you get a ‘B-People’ one at your doorstep peeping, you may have a perfectly justifiable reason to distrust the taxi and not go out for it.

2) Don’t get in unmarked cars. This should be an obvious one but it was on the flyer so I’ll say it here as well just in case it isn’t! Whatever you do, don’t get into an unmarked ‘taxi’. You have no idea who is driving or what they want. You can, however, be pretty sure it isn’t a taxi. You can also be definitely certain that it isn’t worth the risk to find out!

3) Make sure the driver’s badge and license number are clearly visible. This is information that you can get while booking as well, which provides an easy way to verify that the car you’re getting into is indeed the car you ordered. Ask the company to text or just tell you the licence plate number of the car, and/or the driver’s number. That way you can check it’s your driver.

4) Sit in the back. This is advice I often see on things pertaining to taxi safety, and I’m in two minds about it. If you’re in the back you have advantages in a combative situation in that it’s more difficult for him to twist around to attack you and also more difficult for him to see what you’re doing behind him. However, if your driver is on a mad rampage wanting to send you both into a wall then you can more easily gain some control of the wheel or handbrake, or even (maybe) the pedals if you gain a lot of control over the situation combatively. Sounds ridiculous I know, but let’s not discount such an event as impossible. That would be an example of us leaving ourselves a severe weakness. We are very vulnerable in situations we previously discounted as impossible, so consider it seriously for a moment. Could you, for example, brake with an unconscious driver’s leg? How might you do that? How else might you try to stop the car and get out without death or serious injury? Aside from all that, sitting in the front means you can more easily see the dude’s (or dudette’s) hands. That’s something many people who’ve had the displeasure of being attacked with a knife (or indeed any other weapon) hadn’t previously thought of. Afterwards, most do.

5) Keep your mobile to hand. Common sense, but often not done. If it’s to hand, and unlocked, ready for you to dial emergency services at a moment’s notice, something serious could well be averted or made less serious. At the very least, it could mean that once whatever crime was in the driver’s mind has been committed, he may be more likely to be caught so he can’t do it again to someone else. In the best-case scenario, however, it may act as a deterrent because he may have noticed that you’re obviously ready and not an easy victim. Making yourself a ‘hard target’ is crucial to your personal security.

6) Avoid travelling alone. I’m sure I don’t need to explain this one! It’s pretty much instinctual. Do you feel more scared walking through the house in the dark alone or with a friend? That feeling is what I’m talking about. With others, you’re simply making yourself a harder target. It should be said though that you may want to be choosy with this, as there are those who are so deeply in a victim state that they can pull the people around them into danger (I’m sure most of us will know at least one or two people who might be considered ‘liabilities’ for whatever reason) and generally get people into trouble. From the perspective of your own personal security you want to avoid these people, and from the perspective of your social responsibility (don’t worry, I’m not about to get on my soap box) then you may want to consider educating them! That way they stop getting themselves into horrible situations and you get yourself a friend you can depend on when you’re out. Worth thinking about.

7) Don’t throw your details around. When you’re booking your taxi, do so somewhere where it would be difficult for anyone to overhear your name, address or number. It may be possible to text these details instead of say them over the phone with some taxi companies, and thus avoid anyone overhearing if you can’t get away. When you’re waiting for your pre-booked taxi outside, if you’re asked by anyone claiming to be an unknown waiting taxi driver (or indeed anyone else) then don’t tell them. Instead, ask them for the name and destination of the fare they’re waiting for. If it’s your name and destination then that’s probably your driver! If not, it’s not so don’t go with them or tell them anything.

8) It’s your taxi – nobody else’s. Unless you know and trust them, don’t let anyone elbow their way into your taxi. You simply don’t know them or why they want to be in the taxi with you. If you want a good example of why you should think about this, go and watch Luc Besson’s ‘Taken‘ (2008) if you haven’t already.

Of course there’s many more considerations for when you’re getting taxis, but these are just a few thoughts prompted by a flyer. If you have any others you would recommend, then you’re more than welcome to furnish us all with your ideas in the comments below! If you have any questions then the same is true. Whatever you do, whether you’re getting a taxi or not then the kinds of thought processes that have led to these ideas are absolutely crucial for your general personal security. If the reasoning behind anything here doesn’t make sense, please make sure you get in touch and ask me what I’m thinking and why! If you disagree with me then that’s fine, but if you can’t even understand where the ideas are coming from then that’s an important issue that needs to be addressed! Either for you or for me.

Until next time,

Josh Nixon, ESP

Images courtesy of Luke Stodola and Jasenka Petanjek:
’Toronto’ found at http://openphoto.net/gallery/image.html?image_id=7176
’NYC Cab’ found at http://openphoto.net/gallery/image.html?image_id=24337
’Toronto’ (2) found at http://openphoto.net/gallery/image.html?image_id=7187
used with thanks.