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ON THE ROAD “…even more threatening to motorists is the increase in the serial killers who now look for their victims on the highway…”
BUMPER
CRIMES
Now, bumper crimes are also frequently a prelude to carjacking. Typically they occur in parking lots, traffic intersections, and sometimes even while a motorist is driving. The location is usually dark, with no one around—not a geographically out-of-the-way spot but one sparsely traveled due to the hour. It will be the last thing you expect. I remember
a call at 2 A.M. for any nearby unit: A woman kidnapped by one man,
the location and description of the car. We pulled a U-turn and
did twenty miles in ten minutes. We thought we had a good chance
to get him. En route we learned the woman s I remember another case involving an eighteen-year old, on her way home after dropping off her boyfriend. She was doing sixty to sixty-five in the fast lane and was bumped from behind . . . yes, at that speed. She pulled over, was beaten and robbed. I didn't say this to her, but she was lucky not to have been kidnapped and then raped, too. If you're thinking,
"If I'm hit late at night, I'm taking off," I'd agree if the vehicle
that hit you is full of If you don't
feel threatened, an alternative is to keep the doors locked, windows
rolled up, motor running, and wait for the other driver to approach
the side of your car. Shout to him that you are afraid and want
him to follow you to a safe location to exchange information. Just
saying, "I'm afraid," out loud, puts you and your passengers on
alert and breaks the habit we have of automatically getting out
of our car to exchange Imagine this scene: Instead of agreeing to follow you to a nearby open business, suddenly one or more of the guys from the other car starts kicking your door, beating on the window or door with a club, or points a gun at you. Your response—hit the gas. When exchanging information after an accident, you're going to be nervous, fumbling, looking for something to write with, trying to remember what you should write down, and what do you write it on? Make that easy ahead of time. With your registration papers, carry a three-by-five-inch card with all the information you're legally obligated to furnish and nothing more. Never, never give any information, telephone number, or address to someone on where you live or work. Caution: Some places of employment are not even close to confidential with the information they give out over the phone about fellow employees. I have a friend who rents a post office box for this and other privacy reasons. When you make the decision to stay in your car, stick to it. Don't weaken. Don't give in to threatening demands. Don't let any brave soul in your car be a hero and say, "Oh, I'll go handle it for you." Would-be heroes are usually men. If he's attacked, you're faced with the dilemma of leaving him and going for help or getting out of the car to help him and jeopardizing your own safety. No matter who is in your car, insist they stay there. In your car, you be the leader, you give the orders. When you're waiting for the other driver to come along-side your car, watch your back through the rearview mirror. Watch for a second person approaching your car from the passenger side while you're distracted. Most carjackers do not work a bumper-crime ruse alone. Rapists are the exception. If a second person approaches, it's time to hit the gas. How do you mentally rehearse against a possible bumper crime? It may be the easiest of all mind-setting. The next time you pass a traffic accident, daytime or night, remind yourself, "If that were me, late at night, no one around, there's no way I would get out of my car or turn my motor off." Then worsen everything. Imagine the person you see at the traffic accident approaching your car door and trying to get you out. Imagine him with a gun in his hand. Then imagine hitting the gas. You're better off speeding away and being shot at than sitting paralyzed. Mind-setting ahead of time will make all the difference. Ruses only work against the people not prepared against them. Ruses
Make your answer "No" to both. Tell them you'll go to the nearest open business, notify police, and request an ambulance. These sorts of ruses are deeply subversive because they undermine all social connections by preying upon our best instincts—to help those who need it. It's the same with many home intrusions, which sometimes begin with a woman coming to the door asking for help ("I'm being chased") or a teenage boy asking for help because he was beaten or in an accident. For More: Corporate Work/America's Most Wanted
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When
I joined the police department in 1966, bumper crimes were fairly
rare. They were used exclusively to initiate armed robbery or to
kidnap women. 
bumper
had been tapped lightly at a traffic light, and when she got out
of her car to exchange information, the man hit her across the face
with a tire iron and forced her into his car. Her ten-year-old son
had seen it all and ran to the nearest house to make the call. We
didn't get there in time. She was found later, beaten and raped.
loudmouthed
drunkards or, worse, someone threatening you. But, the motor vehicle
laws in most countries prohibit leaving the scene of an accident
without stopping, except when your personal safety is at stake.
If you leave the scene of an accident without trying to exchange
information, it must be because you could not do so safely. If that's
your decision, drive to the first open business you find and notify
the police. 
information.
By telling him you're frightened, you'll find out quickly what kind
of person you're dealing with. Most people will understand and accommodate
you. If he says, "You better get out of the car, it's your duty.
I'm not following you anywhere; I want you to come back here and
look at this, we'll exchange information right here"—then you
know he's either a jerk or a crook.