Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Women's Self Defense If Traveling Alone

By Marion Wilkinson

Not just women, but everyone is at a higher risk of an assault when they travel by themselves. There are some things you can do to make sure you are not a victim.

Get a map and plan your route of travel to where you are heading. Study it. Know exactly how to get where you are going. If at all possible when you go to rent a car ask to see if they have one with GPS. This way you will not be at the mercy of having to pull in somewhere and ask a total stranger or strangers for directions. After you know the safest route look at your final destination itself. Is it safe? Don't take for granted that it is in a safe neighborhood. With any computer today you can pull up pictures of the location you are going and check out the surrounding community.

We are all pinching pennies these days but when it comes to picking which hotel you are going to stay at the price should not be your main concern. Your safety should be. In the "budget" motels or hotels many times the door to your room is right on the street. It is much safer to have your hotel door inside a building. Most safer hotels have better security. They usually have at least security cameras and sometimes even have security guards patrolling the grounds. Another safety feature you can take advantage of is a hotel's parking valet service. This helps you to avoid having to walk across a dark parking lot at night. If you can find a hotel close to where your meetings are, so much the better. Less time spent traveling in an unfamiliar area the better.

If you are traveling to another country it is important to learn the language a little bit so you do not have too big of a communication gap. When you are alone in another country and something happens to you it will be impossible to find help if you cannot speak the language. Practice before you plan your vacation.

Another very important thing you need to do when you are traveling out of the states by yourself is find out where the US embassy is located. If you are robbed, attacked, raped, kidnapped, or anything else this is where you need to go. They will protect you and get you back to the states and home to your family.

Carrying self defense products is worth considering if traveling internationally. If you do choose to carry a small canister of pepper spray, a Taser, or a stun gun you must make sure they are legal in the foreign country you are going to be visiting. You want to make plans to help make sure your trip is a safe one.

When going overseas you have to consider a lot of things tp make sure your trip is as safe as possible. Know for sure where the United States Embassy is and know how to get to it. Choose as safe a hotel as possible. Always try to use a car that has a GPS system installed and it will really help if you pick up some important phrases in the local language. Bon voyage!

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