Do you have a hijacking action plan?
What happened to Chantel Morris is worse than most mothers’ worst nightmare. When she was hijacked she did not have enough time to get her four-year- old child out the back seat of the car and the hijackers raced off dragging the little boy, who was caught in his seatbelt, behind them. Now instead of thinking how you would feel if that happened to you, rather ask yourself what you would do if it did?
As South Africa makes it into the top 20 countries with high hi-jacking rates, it is natural to fear becoming one of those statistics. Rather than just living in fear of being hijacked with your children in the car you can prepare to be hijacked. As odd as this may sound, there are certain measures you can take to not only avoid a hijacking but to avoid more serious harm to you or your family if you do find yourselves in this situation.
The worst approach you can take to potential hijackings is to be complacent. “We need to take a pro-active approach to hijacking. Every parent should sit down with their children and discuss the possibility of it and develop an action plan of what each person should do if you are ever hijacked. Rather have confidence that your child knows what to do than panic about their reactions in what is a highly traumatic experience,” says Eugene Herbert, the Managing Director of MasterDrive.
Many people know that during a hijacking you should avoid eye contact with the criminal. Yet, do you know what to do if your baby is strapped into a car seat at the back? What should you do if the hijacker refuses to let you get your child? “As a parent what would you do if you were in that situation? You should not hesitate when considering these scenarios but have a reaction planned in your mind.
You can get the knowledge you need to handle a hijacking through an anti-hijack course. This will teach you how to identify a potentially dangerous situation, how to get out of that situation and then what to do if you are hijacked despite these evasive measures. Remember, as we come back relaxed from the festive season, criminals are as alert as ever before.
If you want to prepare yourself and protect your family from danger, MasterDrive has an anti-hijacking course to show you how. The lessons you will learn from them could make the difference between life and death. For further information contact MasterDrive on 011 867 4778 or www.masterdrive.co.za
Did you know?
Statistics say:
- Hijackings occur more often on a weekday
- Friday evening between 16:00 and 20:00 is the most common hijacking time
- The recovery rate of stolen and hijacked vehicles is 43%
- More than 75% of stolen or hijacked vehicles that have recovery devices are recovered