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As nomads, the safety and security we create on the road increases our enjoyment of nomad life, and being well prepared insures our personal safety and security. Over the years I’ve learned to be prepared, but have also honed my “take no sh*t” attitude!
Most of time we’re safer on the road than we are living in a house. In fact the street I lived on before I became a nomad was well known in the local news for drug traffic and other crime!
We can have safety and security on the road, and not live in fear, if we put some practical habits into practice. I wrote an entire chapter on fear in my book Wild Women On The Road, and it’s a subject that often comes up in nomad forums. No one is ever really safe in this life, and security is an illusion, but we can still have courage … doing what we love in spite of our fear!
After being on the road for 7 years, there’s a few things I’ve put into practice that increase my personal safety and security on the road.
Practical Tips For Safety And Security On The Road
1. When you pull into a campsite on the back roads, know where you are. Write down your GPS coordinates and pin your location on your phone. Then if you have to call law enforcement, you can tell them exactly where you are. I learned this one the hard way! Here’s how to Drop A Pin On Google Maps, Drop A Pin on Maps On iPhone, and how to Read your GPS Coordinates on an Android Phone or iPhone.
2. When you pull into a spot, don’t immediately check your phone or go to the back of your rig. I only made this mistake once. After pulling into a truck stop parking lot, I looked down, scrolling on my phone, and when I looked up an aggressive panhandler was AT my window. I felt bad when I sternly waved him off, and he was none too happy with me.
3. Check out the “neighborhood” while you’re still in your front seat, and then take a quick walk around your rig and scope out the environment. Are there other rigs? What’s their condition? Is there a lot of garbage or beer cans, which might indicate a local party spot? There are now so many people out there living as nomads out of necessity and not by choice, but they’re just trying to survive, just like the rest of us. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to move if you see homeless encampments, but being aware of the environment around you puts you at an advantage. Tune into your gut feelings and your intuition, they are real and valuable guidance in keeping us safe on the road. I had mine tested when I had my scariest nomad experience!
4. Always lock up at night and don’t have valuables in sight at any time. I don’t leave anything outside my van overnight that I’ll stress over losing, like my portable solar panels. If someone is paying attention to your habits, when they know you’re paying attention it makes you less of an easy target.
5. Put aside your discomfort at being embarrassed. Women especially are reluctant to call for help because they might be perceived as overreacting. I’d rather have someone judge me for women’s hysteria then be not-alived. The one time I did overcome my embarrassment and called law enforcement, they couldn’t find me! I talk more about what happened in later in this blog, but they’d routed me to dispatch, and then they couldn’t find me. Which goes back to number one, write down your coordinates if you’re off the main roads!
6. Learn to be ok with not being NICE! I’ve had to stand up to a few troublemakers, and what’s helped me every time is to not smile, and to act tough. I’m really not a tough person, but I’ve noticed when I’m put in a potentially harmful situation, my inner warrior woman rises up in me and takes no crap. I raise my voice, swear, and hold my weapon of choice at the moment. (A tire thumper was my favorite until I got my tasers.)
When I was camping in Table Mesa AZ, I made the mistake of being friendly to a guy who pulled into my campsite with a believable story that he was looking for his wife … and later that night he returned high, probably on meth. He parked his vehicle right next to us and was practically incoherent. He wouldn’t leave me and my partner at the time alone and I had to get tough, get the tire thumper, and yell at him to move on. His response was ”geez I didn’t do anything,” but thankfully he did move out of the area. That was the one time I did call 911 and they couldn’t find me lol!
7. Practice common sense moves that increase your personal safety and security on the road, like facing front out of a spot so you can pull out fast if things get dicey. Don’t let anyone park you in, even if it’s a fellow campmate. You always want to have a clear path out.
8. Make sure your driver’s seat is easily accessible when you’re parked, especially if you’re in a sketchy area. I do have a tendency to pile stuff up on my front seat, since I’m in a mini-van and space is at a premium, but I can easily throw things into the back and jump into the seat if I need to.
9. Have a routine of putting your keys, and phone, in a dedicated place in your rig. Don’t expect that you’ll remember where you put them if you’re in a sudden emergency! I also make a habit of putting my phone in my pocket if I’m taking even a short walk away from the van.
10. If you decide to carry a weapon, make sure it’s in easy reach and you’re practiced in using it. My favorite self-defense item was an 18 inch weighted tire thumper, it felt good in my hands and looked intimidating when I held it in a way that said I meant business! This year I invested in a taser wand, and a smaller hand held taser. I’ve put them both where I can quickly get my hands on them, and practiced setting them off. The sound of the 2 million volts crackling off the tips of those tasers will intimidate man or beast! Anything can be used for self-defense if push comes to shove. A pen, a chef knife, a hammer, a hatchet … you get the idea.
Remember the most important tool for self defense is your attitude. Most self defense is psychological, especially for women. We’ve been socialized to “be nice,” but this does nothing to protect us! A better demeanor is to be assertive and take no shit. Predators are looking for a weak target.
As I said in my book, “Remember that fear is a terrible advisor. Fear is noisy. It fills our heads with frightening thoughts and distracts us from living in the present moment. It doesn’t care about our dreams. It exists to maintain the status quo and keep us from danger … even when the danger exists only in the imaginary future.”
Most of the time on the road we are absolutely safe and secure. We can decrease our fear and increase our safety by putting a few habits into practice, and then enjoy the stunning beauty and freedom that the nomad life has to offer!
In reality, life isn’t safe! We could be shut up behind doors, hidden away, and still have a break-in or an injury. Check out the stats for household accidents if you want to be scared lol!
Some excerpts taken from Wild Women On The Road: A Women’s Guide To Nomadic Freedom In The Modern Age. Mary Ellen Telesha
