Freedom From Fear: Safety Awareness for the Trucking Professional. Part 2

Happy Independence Day and welcome back to part 2 of Situational Awareness 101. We left off last month talking about if you put enough time and distance between you and a possible attacker you will not be a victim. We discussed that the first and foremost skill you need to learn is understanding and being aware of your surroundings. By doing this, your mind is now set to prepare yourself physically against an attack. Remember Time + Distance = Safety. This month we will progress in learning the next phase in Situational Awareness.

I want to teach you a simple way to remember to stay alert and aware. Below is a chart of the color code of awareness that you need to learn.

Level White- Totally Unaware

Level Yellow - Relaxed 360’ Alertness

Level Orange - Identify Potential Threat

Level Red - Taking Action

Level Black – Mental Blackout/or Freeze

Picture a group of meerkats out having a great time on the African plains. Meerkats are very alert. They epitomize situational awareness. There are many other creatures that threaten the life of a meerkat. In my illustration, as the meerkats gather and go about their daily routine Mr. Meerkat must always be aware of where the predator is or may be. Mr. Meerkat must always start his every day in Level Yellow. Let us imagine the meerkat and his group. He sees a hyena about 100yards away. He alerts his group maybe saying, guys there is a hyena 100 yards away. Mr. Meerkat assesses the situation and determines that the hyena is far enough still that they can continue with their meerkat games. Level Yellow indicates that you are relaxed and calm, but you see everything around you. You make all your senses available to evaluate the risks. You go about your day until something changes. If the safety of the meerkat changes, they know immediately. Because he was in Level Yellow, the meerkat can now transition to Level Orange preparing himself and his family to make evasive efforts when necessary. Mr. Meerkat now alerts the group that the hyena is now about 50 yards away and because he was in Level Yellow, he can transition to Level Orange which is identifying the threat and implementing the plan of action. Level Orange is a heightened state of awareness. From this level the meerkat can move to Level Red if necessary. Now the meerkat evaluates the threat and notices that the hyena knows that they are there. Mr. Meerkat now elevates to Level Red. He rounds up all his crew and heads to the holes they have previously determined to be safe. Mr. Meerkat has saved his family, friends, and himself because he started in Level Yellow Awareness. The key to using this for your protection is to Always be in Situational Awareness Level Yellow. If Mr. Meerkat started in Level White, there would be no way for him to move to Level Orange when faced with a threat. Mr. Meerkat would be totally unaware of a threat in the first place. When we are in Level White and we face a threat, we will immediately go to Level Black. This is when you are a victim. Level Black is where panic and fear set in. Level White will lead to Level Black always. Most victims never see their assailant coming. You must never be in Level White Awareness. So, to avoid becoming a victim maintain Level Yellow Awareness always.

How do you employ Level Yellow Awareness? In last months article we talked about what a hard and soft target looks like. We see examples of soft targets every day. If you apply my real simple strategies to your everyday, you will be creating your safety ritual. You will instinctively be in Level Yellow all the time. For example, when you walk into a room notice where all the exits are. If you sit in a restaurant position yourself where you can see who comes and goes. This allows you to locate the best exit and escape route if you and your fam ily need to move to Level Orange. When you are out in public, walk with your shoulders back and your head up. Do not be afraid to make eye contact. When we connect with another person with our eyes and particularly a predator, it implies to the predator that you are aware of him/ her. This presents you as a hard target and the predator will move to a softer target.

Walk with Confidence. Ladies, walk like you are on the fashion runway. BE CONFIDENT. 90% of all personal communication is through body language. Present yourself Strong, Confident, and Alert and you will have won 90% of the battle. This is how you present a hard target to the predator. Walk or drive like you have a purpose. Do not look lost. If you are lost, do not let the general public know you are lost by your actions. If you are lost while walking, walk to a public location and ask for directions from a clerk in a store or a local authority person. Today it is more common to check our phones for directions, but this method can send out huge signals to a predator. If you need to use your phone to locate yourself or locate your destination, please do it discreetly and be aware of who may be watching you. Having your face in your phone is a real good indicator to a predator that you are a soft target. Be careful how you drive if you are lost. Always be aware of people around you who might get certain clues that would indicate you are lost. Do Not Look Lost, you become a much harder target. If you employ these simple actions and remember some of what your inactions look like to a predator, you will be safer than you ever have been in the past. Always remember my simple formula for not being a victim. Time + Distance = Safety. If you put enough Time and Space between you and the bad guy you will not be a victim of a personal physical crime. Remember to make yourself look bigger than you are. Fake it till you make it, right? I tell people all the time that we need to use the animal kingdom as an example of how to be a hard target. The Tomato frog of Madagascar puffs up like a balloon that convinces predators they cannot eat them. Some frogs scream when they see a predator to scare the enemy away. If you are being attacked or feel threatened, you need to scream as loud as you can. You need to make yourself look as big as possible. Until next month please stay safe. As always please feel free to contact me about anything victim prevention related. In next month's article we will go over the final stages of preparedness before we move into defense.

Stay Safe

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Freedom From Fear

Michael Mercer

F3Defense CEO/ Founder

Mike@f3defense.com