Someone approaching you car door

[bratch]

This happened to me this morning but didn't go quite as far as the scenario.

I park in an alley behind my apartment that exits onto the main road I take into work. There are buildings on both sides that make it somewhat difficult to see the road so I pull up into the crosswalk to see the street.

This morning a man and woman were walking on the sidewalk. I was stopped before they got to the intersection. As they walked infront of my truck she stared at me then after passing the truck she turned around and started pointing down the road at another street and telling me something I couldn't hear.

How would you handle the situation if she attempted to open the door( they were locked)? Driving away was not an option.

This also happened last year in a parking garage that had poor visi\ability at the exits with a guy walking down the street.

 

[mete]

Does your vehicle have a horn ? Use it.

 

[Kamicosmos]

Well, it doesn't sound like a 'scary' situation here...I would have cracked the windows and ask 'What?'

As far as an obvious threat running up to the vehicle and trying the doors ala car jacking...well. Good thing MO has car carry and CCW.

 

[bratch]

I wasn't concerned with a carjacking, actually wasn't concerned about anything in this situation, as noone approached my truck but was using it as a springboard for other possibilities such as someone trying to start a physical altercation or vandalize my vehicle with me in it.

Hadn't thought about thehorn.

 

[AF_INT1N0]

Not a problem. In a vehicle you command the steel equivalent 2 Buffalos. (Crunch)

 

[Mixlesplick]

I always leave a little room in front of my truck so I can punch the gas to move away from someone approaching my door. I don't know about situations where there is limited visibility or maneuvering space. I often have my hand on a can of OC or near a pistol in situations where the possible need for defense might arise. I'm not paranoid about it. It is just the way I go about my day.

 

[bogie]

"Hey, if I were you, I wouldn't drive down there, because a bucket of nails just fell off the back of a pickup!"

There are more nice people out there than bad people. If we forget that, it will color our every action, and eventually turn our world into a living hell.

 

[Relayer]

Someone approaching the door puts me on alert. Someone attempting to open the door means I'm feeling threatened. These days, especially, that is a major breech of protocol, so to speak (even though my car locks my doors for me when I put it in gear).

Still, I treat someone simply approaching the door with caution, but not alarm, unless I have some additional concerns. I always leave the aforementioned spac e between cars, if any, for a quite getaway. If packing, my hand would be ready to bring that weapon into action asap.

 

[Dionysusigma]

bogie: There are more nice people out there than bad people.

Have you ever been to the East coast?







This is why I like to drive in the left-hand lane whenever possible. If you stop and there's some... unwholesome activity going on, the chances of them coming all the way out to you (in the middle of the road) are much less. Plus, if traffic isn't too thick, you might be able to get away.

If they touch the car in a threatening manner, lay on the horn. If they try to open the door, lock 'em quick (having an older brother to annoy helped me hone this skill ).

And if they hijack your car: put on the parking brake, turn on the windshield wipers, the hi-beams--whatever you can do to make yourself noticed.

And all this is if you're unarmed.

 

[Daemon688]

Driving in the left lane has it's problems as well, not as life threatening but losing out lots of money due to insurance fraud isn't good either. Two vehicles, one on the right side of you matching your speed. Their partner in a junky car cuts in front of you and slams their brakes. You end up rear ending them because you had nowhere to go and your insurance has to pay it out.

Like the others said, give yourself more space so you can have an escape route. If someone has a gun already pointed out and going to "jack" you, you might as well give up your car.

 

[grimjaw]

I had thoughts like this while working in the city. There were many times on the way home from work that traffic was stopped for long periods downtown, and rowdy crowds headed to the ballgame would be milling around the car, or crossing the crosswalks in front of you. Sometimes homeless people would be walking in between the lanes asking for change. It got me into the habit of locking my doors and rolling up my windows. There wasn't really much else I could do, since I was surrounded on all sides by other cars or innocent bystanders. In most of those cases, though, there were several LEO's directing traffic, so I'd say the risk level was low. I didn't have a carry permit, so my only option would have been knives, which I usually had in the center console.

Until I lived on the east coast, I never worried about stuff like this. Even after two years, it took me awhile to get used to the idea. But if I'm living, working, or traveling in the city, I try to have a hostiles present, get the hell away from here mindset. It sucks, and it's tiring, but we don't live in a world anymore where anyone trusts anyone else.

jmm

 

[Havegunjoe]

Lock your doors.

One thing I do immediately upon entering my vehicle is lock the doors. I dont' wait for them to do so automatically as usually that does not occur until you put the car in drive. My daughter when young would say to me when I'd do this, "oh dad, nobody is going to steal me". I would reply "you bet your little butt they won't because I won't give them the opportunity".

I agree I'd drop the window a little and ask what are you saying. You might look around first to make sure someone isn't coming from another direction while you are distracted. I'd be alert as you should be in condition yellow at least but not parinoid just yet.

 

[YammyMonkey]

Something similar happened to me a few months ago. . .

I was pulling into a grocery/gas store/strip mall parking lot that had about 30 yards worth of entry drive to it before the lot itself. There was a small pickup stopped where the entrance met the lot and the driver apparently wasn't going anywhere. There was a car coming out of the lot that he yelled at, the other driver kept going and at this point the driver of the red truck got out and started approaching me.

I was about 7 yards behind his vehicle and as soon as I noticed his odd behavior I put my vehicle in reverse, locked the doors, unlocked mine, uncovered my trusty Kimber for easier access and staged my left hand on the door handle, right on my seatbelt release and rolled down the window as the guy looked distraught, but not overtly dangerous. Turns out he was just looking for directions to the Interstate and the maid at his hotel let his cats out and they were run over, hence his being distraught.

My thought was, if he gets aggressive, I can back away quickly, but I still have room either way to go forward. If something happens and I can't move (get blocked in somehow) and he gets right up to the door without showing a weapon I can throw the door open, kicking it open even with my left foot to throw him off, smack him good and/or give me a bit more time while trying to maneuver the vehicle to safety. If a weapon was shown I'd run him down. The seatbelt release and grab the gun was my "hail mary" worst case scenario option as it would mean I need to exit the vehicle and try to deal with him at very close quarters, but I was hoping the smack him with the door tactic would give me an advantage.

I think the key to any situation like this is to have layers of actions that are available to you. Allowing someone to harm my pregnant wife in this situation was completely unacceptable just as running over a guy looking for directions was. In the average in-car scenario I think a gun is, unfortunately, a very poor choice of defensive tool. Try maneuvering in your car, getting into a position to shoot an aggressor. Try drawing your CCW first, then getting into a position that would allow you to get a good clear shot of an attacker. Both are pretty hard and awkward; especially for a lefty-shooter like me in the driver’s seat with an attacker approaching from that side.

The average person doesn't consider their vehicle any more of a weapon than the pen that's likely sitting on their desk at home, but both can bring a lot of hurt on a person if used as a weapon. People tend to get too caught up in the traditional role of everyday items and fail to adapt, improvise and survive bad situations because of it.

 

[1911 guy]

Car=Weapon

As stated earlier, there are more folks out there like us, live and let live, than the other type. If, however, you get in a bind, remember that your vehicle is a weapon in addition to whatever else you might have with you. Unless you're driving a wind-up toy like my sister does.

 

[RevDisk]

Rolling down the window and trying to get more information would be a good idea.

If the person has ill intentions, tis what I keep a battle axe in my car for. "Valhalla awaits!"