LifeLite Shares Personal Safety Tips

Situational Awareness and Personal Safety in Trucking

When female drivers rated how safe they feel on a scale of 1 to 10, the average response was just 4.4, according to Women In Trucking’s best practices research. This is unacceptable, as all drivers, male or female, should feel safe when doing a job they are paid to do.

One of the most important ways to improve personal safety is to understand your surroundings so that if there is aggression you are not a “step behind.” This is referred to in law enforcement and the military as “situational awareness” or SA.

Those with a strong SA are relaxed yet aware of their surroundings – scanning and assessing – and ready to make swift, logical protective choices if a problem were to arise. Criminals are very observant when selecting potential targets and can sense if they are in “code white” or in a low SA (oblivious to their surroundings) versus a “code yellow” (heightened state) and choose their victims accordingly.

For an additional level of comfort, the Pepperball LifeLite can be used when a driver is in an area that might be isolated or dark. The flashlight provides illumination while the pepper balls provide a higher level of protection.

At the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, a WIT member shared that she is a package car driver for a major delivery company and regularly exits her truck to deliver parcels to businesses and residences.

“I do think about where I am and how I might be vulnerable, so I really am aware of my situation all of the time. But I feel that is not enough because I can still be overpowered. Carrying a device like Pepperball LifeLite is clearly something that I need to do to even the playing field and actually give me a clear advantage,” she says. n

Dave Graham Master Instructor United Tactical Systems/ Pepperball LifeLite

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