In A Carjacking Your Life Is
Worth More Than Your Car.

Former world champion American boxer killed in attempted Carjacking July 25, 2009...

38 year old Vernon Forrest was shot 7-8 times in an Atlanta gas station as he attempted to stop armed hijackers stealing his Jaguar. His girlfriend's 11 year old son was with him at the time.

Some Disturbing Facts:

• Car hijacking accounts for around 4% of all U.S. car thefts....about 40,000 to 50,000 each year.
  
  
• The average vehicle heist takes just 15-20 seconds.
  
  
• "Nearly 75 percent of all attacks involve the use of a gun or other deadly weapon". (Illinois Dept.Transportation... 2007)
  
  
• 45% of attacks involved firearms... 11% knives.
  
  
• Only 7% of New Jersey vehicle hijackings in 2008 were solved by arrest.(State Police report)
  
  
• 93% of attackers are male.
  
  
• 92% of hijackings involve only one person alone in their car.
  
  
• Around 16% of victims are injured.
  
  
• Hotspot South Africa has a carjacking rate 18 times that of the U.S. (ref:Wikipedia)
  
  

• "Allied Technologies Ltd will buy a vehicle recovery business in Brazil to profit from a car hijacking rate it says is twice that of South Africa, where it owns one of the nation's largest vehicle tracking and recovery companies". (Bloomberg...March 18, 2010)

Car Hijacker's scams include:

1. "Bumping"their target intentionally to get the victim to stop at the "accident" scene.
   
   
2. "The Fallen Number Plate" which they remove, then follow the victim and try to get the target vehicle to stop somewhere by flashing the plate pretending to have recovered it.
   
   
3. Pretending to be in trouble so a Good Samaritan stops to help and is attacked.
   
   
4. Waiting near stop lights ready to rush a stopped car to open an unlocked car door.
   
   
5. Hiding in a van next to the intended target vehicle waiting for the victim to return.
   
   
6. Lurking around isolated parking lots and ATM machines, often dimly lit at night.
   
   
7. Watching out for keys left in the car's ignition in gas stations, house driveways, super-markets,etc.
   
   
8. Targeting mothers loading shopping bags into vehicles who are surprised to see their vehicle speed away, sometimes with a young child strapped into the back seat.

"If the carjacker has a weapon, give up the vehicle no questions asked. YOUR LIFE IS WORTH MORE THAN A VEHICLE". (Illinois Dept. Transportation)

It is important to always be on the alert as to what is happening around you, and to keep all doors locked and windows up. Avoid being kidnapped at all cost...most car hijackings that turn into kidnappings end badly (either rape, serious injury, or even death)...consider crashing your vehicle to attract attention and hopefully scare off the attacker.