Carjacking Prevention: 5 Ways to Avoid Being Carjacked

Carjacking is unfortunately a growing crime in the US. Carjackings are up 93% since 2019 across 10 cities tracked by the Council on Criminal Justice. Cities like Chicago and Washington DC have seen an increase of over 100% (116% and 101% respectively). Looking at Washington DC occurrences, about 75% involved a gun (in a city with strict gun control laws) and about 60% of the perpetrators are juveniles (who can’t legally own guns). Clearly gun control isn’t helping there.

With a crime this violent and growing in frequency, it only makes sense to think about ways to avoid becoming a victim. Here are some thoughts on carjacking prevention

What is Carjacking

Before we talk about carjacking prevention, I asked Chat GPT to define carjacking for me and this is what it spit out:

“Carjacking is the act of forcefully taking a vehicle from its driver, typically involving threats, intimidation, or the use of violence. This crime often occurs when the driver is inside or near the vehicle, making it distinct from other forms of vehicle theft. Carjackings can be particularly dangerous as they involve direct confrontation between the perpetrator and the victim.”

That’s actually a pretty good definition. I think we can work with that.

What This Article Is Not

This is not an article about how to shoot in and around vehicles. Nor is it going to give you advice on what gun to carry or what ammo to feed it. Those are topics we can teach you, but it’s better taught on the range than in an article. Instead, the focus here is on carjacking prevention and taking steps to avoid being in the situation where you need a gun.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

Situational awareness shouldn’t be a part-time thing that you use in certain situations or neighborhoods. It should be an everyday thing. Like most other skills, the more you practice it, the better you become at using it. Remember the article on the Cooper Color Code? We want to be in Condition Yellow as a minimum.

In the context of this article, it means being aware of what is going on around you as you walk to your car. Carjackers will often follow you or parallel you as you go to your car, making a rush for you when you start to open the door. Seeing following or paralleling behavior can tip you off that something is about to go wrong. The earlier you realize this, the more options you have. One option may be to simply turn back around and go back into the building you just left. It could mean shifting things you are carrying or wearing to be able to defend yourself more effectively. Let the context and your capabilities be your guide.

Bonus Points if you have taught your family, even your kids, to be aware and you have extra sets of eyes looking out for danger cues.

Approaching Your Vehicle

How you approach your vehicle can also make a difference in carjacking prevention. One tactic is to walk on the opposite side of the aisle and take a step or two past your car. That gives you space and it allows you to look down both sides of the car to ensure nobody is waiting to ambush you. This is especially helpful if you are parked next to a big van or SUV that blocks your vision even more.

It is not unheard of for a criminal to hide on the passenger side and be in a position to grab the door handle when the driver unlocks the power locks to all the doors.

Also, if it is nighttime, shine a flashlight down those lines of sight and make it obvious you are doing it. It is surprising how many criminals find bright lights as welcome as vampires find garlic. If you’re not already carrying a flashlight, you should start. Here are two great choices. Both are small and powerful enough for your needs. I carry the one on top when I plan to be out at night and usually the one on the bottom the rest of the time.

Approach From the Front

Another good practice in carjacking prevention is to approach the vehicle from the front if that is possible. Why? Thanks for asking.

If you miss the person tailing you or preparing to rush you, when you approach from the back of the vehicle and open the door, you are now easy to pin against the door and frame. This is a bad spot to be in. A frontal approach puts the door between you and someone who is following you. It isn’t ideal, but it puts you in a much better position to defend yourself and react with more intentionality.

Lock Your Doors

As soon as you get into the car, lock the doors. When I say, “as soon as you get in” I mean immediately. I recently had a student tell me about a situation he had at a gas station. As he left the store, he passed a guy heading in. Because he was practicing good awareness habits, he noticed the sketchy dude make a U-turn and start following him. He was ready with his keys and the second the door closed, he hit the lock button. It was mere seconds before the sketchy dude yanked on the door handle. Had he not locked the door right away, this situation may have ended with my friend needing to use the pistol he was carrying instead of just a few cuss words. Lock your doors.

On a related note, start the car. If someone does manage to walk up on you and you need to make a hasty exit, it’s much better to already have the engine running, isn’t it?

Don’t Just Sit There

A related issue in carjacking prevention is sitting in the car in one spot. I’m talking about getting in the car, checking your text messages, opening your Waze app, and making sure your coffee is in the right spot, all while sitting there in the parking lot while the guy who followed you looks for something to break your window with.

Now, I’m going to be honest: That little sequence is me on any given day. I have to remind myself to not be that stationary target from time to time. Yes, I hit the lock button as soon as I get in, but why make it easier? Yeah, Waze needs an address entered and you may need to look at a text. So what do you do? My normal practice is to get moving, go to an open part of the parking lot with lots of open space and pause there to do those things. If you’re following me, it will be obvious. Is that plan foolproof? No. But it’s better than being a stationary target. Limit your distractions and manage them if they can’t be avoided.

The corollary here is don’t sit there when parking the car. Many modern cars will unlock as soon as you shut off the car. Some will even do it when you put it into park. (Find out if those “features” can be disabled on your car. They suck and they’re dangerous) Park the car, check your mirrors and then get out. If you are finishing a phone call and you think it may be a few minutes, try what we talked about earlier with being in an open area.

Don’t Die Over Stuff

That may sound like a no-brainer, but every day we see stories in the news of people who get killed over their wallet, a car or even a jacket. I don’t advocate being helpless, but I do advocate being smart. If you are facing a drawn gun, hand over your keys. No matter how fast you are, you are already at a disadvantage. The same goes for an edged weapon at a close distance.

As a general principle, I don’t want to die over anything I can buy with money. Likewise, I would rather not take a life over something I can buy a replacement for. Defending life is one thing. Defending pride is another. Don’t die for stuff.

Wrapping Up

Carjacking is big business right now and one of the more potentially dangerous situations you may find yourself in. But by using good situational awareness, using smart approaches to you vehicle, locking the doors quickly, limiting distractions and not being a stationary target, you are much less likely to find yourself in that situation.

If you’d like to learn more about keeping yourself and your family safe, contact us and we’ll help you become a Better Protector.

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