Navigation

Travel Safety and Crime Prevention

News

There are so many times travelers neglect to consider one of themost important things about traveling, which is SAFETY.Vacationers are usually more focused on having fun and a goodtime. People on Business Trips are usually thinking more abouttheir project or assignment. Travel Safety is either way on theback burner or completely ignored. There are several different safety precautions that should betaken when you decide to travel. Before you leave on a trip,protect your home. The house should never look like nobodythere. Make sure it looks like someone is living in your homewhen you are traveling. Keep the blinds and curtains in the sameposition. Stop your mail and newspapers or make sure that afriend or neighbor will pick them up every day. Set lights ontimers to go on at appropriate times. Make sure the grass is cutand snow is shoveled at the regular times. Lock all doors andwindows. Activate your alarm. Put a radio and / or a televisionon a timer and turned up loud. Ask a neighbor to park in yourdriveway while you are gone. Plan ahead of time where you are going to stay, how you aregoing to get there and what you will take with you. Make surethat you have all of the maps and tour books that you needbefore you leave home. Money issues are very important when traveling. Clean out yourwallet or purse. Get rid of all of the junk. Only take with youwhat you need. Use credit cards and traveler's checks as much aspossible. Keep credit card numbers and traveler's check numbersin a safe place. (Also, while you are doing that, it would be agood time to make note of your passport number so if it is lostthere will be fewer problems getting a new passport.) Avoidcarrying around large amounts of cash. Do not put your wallet inyour back pocket. Put your wallet in your front pocket or use amoney pouch (money belt) or an ankle wallet or a fanny pack sothat your money is in the front of your body, not the back. Ifyou must use a purse, carry it close to your body, holding thetop closed and keep it on the front of your body. Travelers should protect themselves against Identity Theft whichis one of the fastest growing crimes of the 21st Century. If youbecome a victim, it can turn your life into a total disaster.Eventhough anybody can become an Identity Theft victim,travelers are more like huge walking targets with flashing neonlight all around them which makes it very easy for them tobecome Identity Theft victims. Travelers often neglect to takethe very basic common sense steps to protect themselves andtheir families. As an innocent consumer, it is better to concentrate onPREVENTION rather than risk having to go through the entirestressful, very time consuming and sometimes expensiveprocedures to recover by clearing your name, correcting yourcredit report, and trying to recover form someone who has stolenyour identity. It is very rare that criminals ever get caughtand convicted. According to Federal Trade Commission most casesof Identity Theft cases occur offline. So if their statisticsare correct, then you are more at risk of becoming an IdentityTheft victim while you are running around form city to citytraveling than you do when you are sitting at home using youcomputer to shop on the internet. If you book your airline, hotel, car rental or cruisereservations or anything else on the internet (like shoppingetc.) and / or especially if you travel around from place toplace using your laptop / notebook online, it is extremelyimportant for you to make sure that you have a Firewall on yourcomputer to protect yourself against becoming a victim ofIdentity Theft. Pack light. Carrying around large, heavy bulky bags will slowyou down and make your more vulnerable to getting robbed.Expensive designer luggage can draw unneeded attention to yourbelongings. Pack your things in inconspicuous bags. Keep aseparate list of all of the contents of your luggage with you.You should put your valuables such as medicine and jewelry in acarry-on bag so they stay with you. Soft sided luggage is better than hard sided for carry-onbecause it is easier to squeeze into the tight crammed spaces.Big hard cases will have to be checked in which increases thechances of your luggage being lost. Put a unique marker on yourluggage so you can recognize it easily when it comes around onthe baggage carousel. Remove all of your old flight tags. Old flight tags can causeyour luggage to be misdirected and lost. Put your identificationon the inside and on the outside of all of your luggage. If youare going on a long extended vacation, consider mailing largebulky bags back to your home. If you purchase items from amerchant, ask if they can ship your new purchases back to yourhome. Never leave your luggage unattended even for a briefmoment. Make sure all of your luggage is in plain view. Take some sanitary wipes with you. You will


travel,,Flights,,vacation package

always need to cleanor disinfect something when traveling. Always carry with you atleast one bottle of your own drinking water. If you aretraveling with a companion, you could consider Cross-Packingjust in case the airline looses your luggage, then both of youwill still have ˝ of the clothes and items you need instead ofone person having nothing. Be aware of your surroundings. Avoid being pickpocketed.Pickpocketers usually work in teams of 2's or 3's. One of themwill bump into you or drop something in front of you or make aloud noise or do anything to cause a distraction. Once you havebeen distracted, the other pickpocketer will steal yourvaluables and walk away. Try to blend in with the crowd. Do not go out walking aroundlooking like a tourist because it makes you an easy target to bea crime victim. Tourists carry cameras, plane tickets, money,and other valuables. Check maps before you go so you know thedirections and you do not look like you are lost. Never discussyour sightseeing schedule in the presence of strangers. Whenever possible travel with other people to sightsee and to goshopping. Stick to well lighted areas. Avoid using short cuts inunfamiliar places. Lock your car - even for short stops. Take your keys with you.Never leave your vehicle running with the keys in the ignition.Close all of the windows. Keep valuables, maps and guidebooks inthe trunk or glove compartment so they are out of sight. Do notleave expensive valuables in plain view. Keep them locked in thetrunk. Never leave your wallet, credit cards or driver's licensein your vehicle. Always be thinking about protecting yourselfagainst Identity Theft. Take your parking ticket with you. Donot leave the parking ticket in your car. Car thieves know thatif they do not have a ticket, then the parking attendant willwant to see proof of ownership before allowing them to exit theparking lot. Always check your vehicle before you enter to makesure that nobody is hiding inside. Write down the year, make, model, color and license number ofyour car and keep it in a safe place to assist locating yourvehicle if it is lost, stolen or impounded. Keep your house andcar keys separated in case you have to use valet parking. Before you leave your car, write down on a note to yourself asto where you are parked. Memory often fails when you are in adifferent city, that is like a strange place with unusualsurroundings OR when returning to your car at the airport inyour own city after a long trip. Do not leave valuables in your hotel room. Use the safe depositsecurity boxes in the hotel vault. Usually this is either a freeor very cheap service. When you are not wearing your jewelry,put it in the hotel vault. When you get to your hotel room,determine the most direct routes to the elevator, stairs andfire escapes. Use the interior locking device when inside your hotel room foradded security. Never automatically open the door. Use thepeephole. If it is a hotel employee, ask to see identification.If you are suspicious or have any questions or doubts then callthe front desk for verification. Never invite strangers in yourroom no matter how helpful they may seem. Always lock you room when you leave, even if just for a minuteto go down the hall to get ice. Always pull the door shut byhand. Make sure it is locked. Double check it. If you leave inthe evening, turn the lights on and turn on either the radio ortelevision so the room appears to be occupied. Before you travel, make sure that you have Travel Insurance thatmeets the needs for you and your family (and / or employees). Itshould include Emergency Medical Treatment along with othertravel protections. Be sure to take all of the necessary precautions to prevent DVT(blood clots). Deep Vein Thrombosis is a very serious medicalcondition that can be fatal to travelers. Even young healthtravelers may be at risks. According to the dvt.net website,"Complications from DVT kill up to 200,000 people a year in theUnited States which is more than AIDS and breast cancercombined!" Do not just "plant" yourself in your seat for severalhours. Move around and stretch. Drink a sufficient amount ofwater. If possible, stand up and walk around to keep your bloodcirculating. If you travel with your family, stick together.Keep an eye on the kids at all times. Make sure your kids knowwhere you are staying and what they should do if you getseparated. Agree on a meeting place if anybody gets lost. Tellyour kids not to accept rides or advice from any strangers. Finally, have fun and enjoy your trip. About the author: Stephanie Gibbs created http://www.travelcheaphotline.com toeducate people about Travel Safety for crime prevention andprovide solutions with a FREE Travel Safety List available to beprinted right off the website. It also promotes fun & amazingoffers for people with low limited budgets.

Written by: Stephanie Gibbs

XML error: mismatched tag at line 20