Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
also be placed at greater risk if you need to drive with your windows down
because the air conditioning doesn't work or is nonexistent.
SECURE YOUR VALUABLES
It is always sound advice to secure your valuables and not leave anything
worth stealing in plain view even when you are in the car and driving.
Many people have enough sense not to leave their wallet, camera, or other
items that will attract the attention of a would-be thief in a parked car.
You must get in the habit of securing your valuables even when you are
driving. Often criminals post themselves at heavily trafficked intersections
and observe the interior compartments of vehicles as they pass. Once they
see an item of interest, it is a simple matter for them to smash the window,
grab the object, and disappear into the crowd before you even have time
to react. Thieves on motorcycles or motor scooters routinely drive in
between lanes of traffic. How difficult would it be for someone on a
moped to reach into your open window, grab your purse or wallet
on the seat next to you, and escape? Professional thieves make their living
doing this every day. Furthermore, by having some item of value visible
in the car, you also may attract the attention of a nonprofessional who may
seize on the opportunity that you have presented. You can easily prevent
these crimes of opportunity. Remember, in many parts of the world, the
monthly salary of a factory worker putting in a fifty-hour work week equals
what you may pay to have dinner with your spouse at a fancy hotel restau-
rant. Your brand-new digital camera on the front seat is equal to several
months' wages. Don't tempt locals with unnecessary displays of affluence.
RECOGNIZE A SETUP
In case this point isn't already obvious, you should never pick up hitch-
hikers or stop for any reason in an area that is not populated and well
policed. Often female hitchhikers induce cars to stop. Then the drivers
are victimized by the hitchhiker's companions who were hidden nearby. Do
not offer to give a ride to anyone whom you do not know well. Criminals
have unlimited numbers of ways to deceive motorists into stopping and
provide them a chance to strike. These techniques are common wherever
there are criminals; that means
everywhere.
A technique that is often tried
