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Workplace Travel Safety Prevention

Review and implement the following steps as needed.

  • Turn on headlights while in a parking garage (during daytime too) to reduce the risk of an accident and to better see people and other cars.
  • Park in areas that are well lit.
  • Refrain from walking in the middle of the lane in a parking garage, do not text while walking, and make use of marked crosswalks.
  • If walking by yourself, get off your cell phone.
  • Drivers entering a parking lot keep an eye on a vacant spot and often neglect to watch for other drivers and pedestrians who are on the move.
  • While backing out of a parking space in a parking garage, blind zones created by vehicles parked alongside the spot obstruct the driver’s vision.
  • Traffic laws aren’t enforceable in parking lots, which can create reckless driving and confusion.
  • One thinks that being on the phone is safe because the person on the other line can call 911, but that rarely works out.
  • Chatting can distract you; it’s better to be aware of your surroundings.
  • If walking alone, hold your cell phone and be ready to make an emergency call.
  • Many phones now have a button on the screen to dial 911 immediately.
  • Go one step further and preset one of the buttons on your phone to call the emergency number.
  • Look underneath your car before approaching it in a parking garage or lot at night.
  • If you return to your car and see that a van is parked right next to the driver’s side, enter through the passenger side.
  • Predators often use vans and will disguise it as a family car, even using “Baby on Board” decals.
  • If you return to your car and it has a flat tire, back away, return to wherever you came from (restaurant, store, etc), and call for help.
  • Once assistance arrives, approach your car. If someone comes up to you and wants to offer help, politely say, “No thank you.”
  • When you are checking in to a hotel room, ask the front desk staff to write your room number down privately so that no one hears what your room is. Your room number should be your business only.
  • Before entering your hotel room, make sure no one is lingering in the hallway.
  • Always immediately lock your hotel room door after you enter.
  • When traveling, do not walk with your map in your hand. It is a dead giveaway that you are a tourist. Therefore, you are an easy target.
  • If you call for room service, and you get a knock on your door, do not immediately open. Ask: “Who is it?” Make the person on the other side of the door tell you who they are before you open it.
  • When asking for directions and someone offers to show you the way by having you follow them, do not go. Just ask for them to point you in the right direction.
  • If someone tries to grab you, twist your arm up and down and yell, “Stop!”
  • Do anything you can to draw attention to yourself.
  • If someone is chasing after you, run away in a zig-zag pattern which is known to exhaust attackers.
  • Before booking a hotel, make sure that guest-room doors have multiple locks, including a deadbolt.
  • Consider using a valet, or park your car in a well-lit area as close as possible to the hotel lobby.
  • Before getting out of the car, scan the parking lot for any possible assailants. Lock the car and do not leave any valuables inside.
  • In high-rise hotels, request a room on the third floor or above.
  • If hotel personnel mention your room number during check-in or another time during your stay, ask for another room.
  • Don’t enter an elevator if someone inside seems suspicious.
  • Don’t open the room door to anyone without verification from the front desk, and do not use your name when answering the phone.
  • Place all valuables in the in-room safe.
  • Hang the “do not disturb” sign on the door and leave a light and radio or TV on when leaving.
  • At night or any time there’s concern about safety, request a hotel staff member to accompany you to your room to inspect it.

Source: ChubbWorks.com