Security and situational awareness: I stop a lot when I travel. I get itchy and cross eyed, don’t forget the bathroom breaks and the nap time. I don’t always book hotels. In fact, there have been many times that I have done the camping thing or just stopped at a rest stop and laid over for a few hours. I would be totally broke, if I stayed at a hotel every single time I wanted to stop driving for a couple of hours, and personally I can tell you some horror stories of hotels that were supposed to be 3 stars and above. I am fortunate that I am vertically challenged. I can lay down in my back seat of my truck and barely touch both doors. I can honestly say there have been 3 times in my 18 years of traveling that I was scared for my safety road tripping and staying in my car, but I can tell you way more scary, gross hotel stories. I personally feel safer staying in my vehicle than in most hotels. I also don’t have to worry about how clean my car is or what diseases I may pick up. I haven’t been carrying a firearm while traveling. The main reason is while we are all very pro 2nd amendment in our house, I never learned the safety procedures for carrying a firearm that I can do so without unintentionally killing someone, and laws change from state to state, who has time for all that?
I handle myself with the following standards:
• I never go anywhere without my keys, a pocketknife, & my cell phone (not even to the rest stop bathroom) In behind my cell phone case, is my license and emergency credit card. I never cart my purse around unless I can’t help it, it gets stuffed in back seat or under the seat.
• When I buy gas, I pay for it at the pump, I always get a receipt. I don’t know if it is true for everyone or not, but on my machine in the garage it will say how many customers have received their receipt vs just the company copy. I also use the same card for purchases like gas. So, for instance, mom knows when I road trip, that if I am not going to Exxon because I have their card, that the only other card gas will only show up on, would be my capital one card. If gas were to show up on my Valley card, it will not have been by me. If I were to get kidnapped (ha-ha) my mom knows I always get the receipt, so she has a location to start looking. Mom also will have my log in info for my accounts to monitor.
• When going from my car to a building or back I always walk straight to or straight back, I don’t meander. I don’t talk on the phone while I am walking or outside my vehicle. I do my best at these times, not to draw undo attention to myself. I don’t use this time to count cash either, if I get it from the atm or cashier it goes directly in my pocket or yes, my bra in some cases.
• If I have do have an uneasy feeling or unwanted attention, my keys are on a carabineer that attaches to my belt loop or tie to my sweatpants. That key has a panic button which I can use, or also has an old key from an old car that I can put between my fingers. Never used the key but have used the panic button to scare off wild pigs.
• When stopping and laying over at a rest stop, I don’t tend to stay at the ones that are on edges of or in the cities. You can also stop at Loves’ or Pilot gas stations, Cracker Barrel or Walmart. My first choice is still the state Rest Stops that are right off the interstates or state highways. They do tend to be manned & are relatively secure. Those 3 times I mentioned earlier, Yeah, they happened at Wal-Marts in Milwaukee, Tennessee, and Little Rock. Over 90% of the people I have come across at Rest Stops are nice people doing the same thing you are doing. You also get left alone. Welcome Centers do tend to be the best.
• In my car in the driver door compartment is bug spray. It serves two functions: keep the bugs away, and in a pinch can act as pepper spray.
• My insurance documents are in a clipboard binder that is shoved between my seat and the middle seat. If I reach for the binder, it obviously is too small to carry a firearm, and my paperwork is close by, I am not reaching over to the glovebox. In a crash it is also easily visible. For all but 3 of my trips, I have gotten stopped by police or have had interactions with them, I haven’t gotten that many tickets though (must be my pretty face). You never know what the laws are in other states or what cell phone service is like, being able to produce your documents and being respectful goes a long way to making that interaction much more peaceful.
• Did you know that you can dial 911 to call or text when you are not in service in the US and still get through, but it would be best to know very close approximate location. Knowing you are somewhere in Texas or Wyoming will not help save your butt, but knowing you are roughly 20 miles east from Gillette, Wyoming on Route 90 will give them a very narrow search area.
• If you are held up at an ATM if you input your pin backwards it will still give you money but will also alert authorities to a potential robbery.
• When traveling by myself- I will check in with a dedicated loved one (mom) who I will check in with at least once a day, this will be the same person throughout my whole trip. If I am having trouble, whether it be car trouble, creeper trouble, or just emotional what’s going on mental trouble, until I have myself straightened out, I will check in more. They have a timeline. I don’t know about you, but if someone is going to mess with me, I want to rain holy hell down on them and make them regret their life’s choices.
• When you go west of Mississippi River ½ tank means next gas station fill up. Sometimes you might be 200 miles between gas stations or exits with bathrooms.
• Know what is normal for your vehicle. Such things like where the coolant temp normally sets, what tire pressures your vehicle calls for (most cars are in the 35-45 psi range), when that gas light comes on exactly how many miles do you normally have. If you are having problems, unless there isn’t another option (no one around) or you are confident that you will be able to handle it yourself, don’t keep driving. All the highway serial killers’ prey on the type of people that can’t handle it themselves and keep driving to an isolated area before they are forced to stop. So if you are at a gas station, restaurant, or such and you have a problem, don’t keep driving to put yourself in that position.
• When road tripping, I don’t wear flip flops, or crocs, I will wear comfortable sneakers. I don’t have to worry about slipping if I go into a questionable bathroom, and I don’t have to worry about my shoes coming off if I must run. Unless you are a southern mama, chances are that flip flops are not going to be a good weapon.
• When driving, I do my best to be courteous and watchful. I don’t become a left lane camper, I don’t cut people off intentionally, and I don’t wait until the last minute to merge for road construction. I do my best to not make myself a target for people who are prone to road rage. I know if you watch Criminal minds or any of those shows they can tell you that it might happen either way, but why borrow trouble. I do tend to hang out with big rigs over the cars as they don’t seem to tailgate you going 80mph on the interstate.

Using these ideas, tips and tricks I have kept my problems to a minimum, have felt safe and secure, and came home from my travels unharmed. At the end of the day that is what is most important.