Smarter, Safer Ways to Handle Roadside Encounters
Road safety is a hot topic. It is so hot that the Government dedicates millions of dollars and resources to improving road safety. We teach drivers how to be safer behind the wheel, we teach children how to cross the road safely, we deploy mechanics to make sure that our vehicles pass road safety inspections. As women however, road safety goes beyond our ability to drive safely in a road worthy vehicle. We also need to stay safe on the road when we aren’t driving anywhere. Let me tell you a story of when I wasn’t safe and the lessons I learned.
Once upon a time I had a 1972 Chevy ute. I worked on it myself and I drove it all over Australia. She was my baby. I knew every inch of the car intimately. Have you ever known a car like that? Well, we were on a road trip, Normanton in the Gulf of Carpentaria to Cairns in Far North Queensland. It is about 700kms with a lot of single lane bitumen roads and stretches without phone reception.
I was cranking the tunes and bopping along not a care in the world. In my rear-view mirror, I noticed the car behind me was flashing their lights and signalling for me to pull over. Assuming they were in a hurry I pulled right off the single lane bitumen to let them pass. But they didn’t go far, they pulled up in front of me and the driver, a lanky tall man climbed out. Lesson 1: Have situational awareness about where you are and what your options are. Do you have phone reception, can anyone see you on the side of the road, and what can you tell about the people in the other vehicle?
He walked to my open driver’s side window and informed me that my ute had a mechanical drama that I needed to get out and see. Lesson 2: Don’t roll your window down all the way. This allows them to reach in and take the keys or assault you.
Then, because I was in my happy place, I did as he suggested, left my keys in the ignition with the engine running and followed him to the rear of my ute. Lesson 3: Don’t get out of your car and never leave your car running with the keys in it. This leaves you exposed and potential for someone to jump in and steal your car.
Now I am not a complete rookie, so as I stood at the rear of that Chevy having my suspension set up mansplained to me, I realised in that moment, I had stuffed up.
How did my road trip turn out? Well maybe there was something wrong with my ute that day but buggered if I could find it. Fact is I am blessed with the gift of the gab, so when I realised that I had stuffed up I talked my way out of it. I mentioned plenty of local people from the next town and the party we were going to and how I was late so if I did break down, they would be here in no time to find me and I casually dropped that one of them was the local policeman. It worked for me that time, but I don’t guarantee it would work every time, and I am particularly blessed in my ability to talk a lot.
So, what’s a girl to do?
In hindsight this is how you should do it.
- Before you leave on the trip, message a friend with your route, expected arrival time, vehicle details and any other notes like stops you are planning along the way. Give them instructions that if they haven’t heard from you by a certain time they should come looking for you.
- Wait until you are in a safe, highly visible place before you pull over. Preferably with other people like a roadside rest spot.
- When they pull up, you should take photos of their vehicle and them and make sure they see you doing it. Text those photos to a friend – even if you don’t have service they will send when the phone does get in range again.
- Only roll the window down a little to speak to them. As a part of that initial conversation, point out that you are late for an appointment with the police, doctor or other official person in the next town. This lets them know they are expecting you.
- Trust yourself that you know your car and it has been driving perfectly so there is no need for you to get out.
- If you do get out, turn off the car, take your keys and your phone with you.
At first these tips may seem rude. Not rolling your window down, or hopping out to please the helpful stranger? Yeah, it is rude. But so is dying to be polite. The time I helped a woman with a flat tyre stuck beside the road, I explained to her that it was ok to wait in the car with the windows up if that made her feel safer. You do you boo.
Is this assuming all men are evil? Not at all. I take the same precautions if a bus load of girl scouts pulls up. I would use these tips even if I was a giant blokey bloke giving off Chopper Read vibes. My deep-seated trust issues have served me well over the years.
I genuinely hope this is never a drama for you to experience. Desperate people do desperate things. But all the tips I have given you here cost nothing to implement and take bugger all time. I think it is worth the 30 seconds it takes to feel safer and get home in one piece. If you have other tips then I would love to hear them. Email me at [email protected] with your road safety gold.
Lara Wilde is a writer, keynote speaker, and lifelong car lover. She’s shared her motoring adventures across national media, organised car events, restored classics, and continues to champion women in the driver’s seat.
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