If Possible, Avoid Stopping for Gas at Night
By Delbert Smith
I was leaving a meeting one evening recently when I over
heard one of my colleagues state she had no gas in her jeep and needed to stop
at the gas station on the way home. I
immediately questioned her, “You go to the gas station at night?” She nodded to
affirm. I thought to myself - I’d have a
fit if it were my woman. Ever since I’ve
been married I’ve made it a habit to gas up my wife’s vehicle weekly in order
to avoid her having to ever go herself.
The reasoning is simple: there are a lot of hazards at these gas
stations and convenience stores (especially in not so great neighborhoods). I
want to give her the best chance to avoid them, especially when she’s alone or
driving the kids somewhere without me.
Obviously, if you’re single or the breadwinner in your
family you’ll probably find yourself pumping your own gas more often than not. Perhaps your Prince Charming won’t be there
every time you need to feed yourself, children or vehicle. Therefore we’ll implement planning that will
help avoid any unplanned trips to the gas station.
Pump enough gas for
the upcoming week…
Pick a day to pump enough gas to get you through the
week. Get familiar with your vehicle’s
gas mileage and do the math each week.
If you’ve got to work, pick up kids, and support their activities
schedule, determine your miles and gas needed and fill up before the week
begins. Add a little extra for unexpected trips or traffic congestion.
If you must make a
gas stop at night, choose wisely
If you find yourself in a situation that you absolutely have
to make a gas stop at night, pick one of the larger stations that meet
corporate specs. (Quick Trip, Race Trac,
BP, etc.) Besides having lower gas
prices, these types of stations are more likely to have working card readers,
working pumps, good lighting and plenty of space. The extra space gives you a better “line of
sight” for other people or vehicles approaching you from any direction. These stations are also less likely to have
people loitering outside of the store, or people using the store solely as a
convenience store and are not even there for gas. It would also be beneficial
to choose a station that law enforcement seem to frequent for coffee breaks.
Be aware of people hanging outside the store if you have to
actually go in. Recently, in the Atlanta
area a young lady was murdered outside of a gas station. The moment she parked her car to go into the
store, the would-be robbers that were loitering outside of the store began
plotting to car jack her. They even went
into the store briefly to pretend to be shoppers. As the woman emerged from the store one of the
robbers followed her to her car – as the other two acted as lookouts. There was a brief struggle for her keys and
she was subsequently shot and killed.
The robbers aborted the attempt at taking her car and ran off. They were later caught, but this young lady
lost her life.
What bothers me most about this incident (other than the
crime itself) is that it was easily avoidable.
She had just gotten off work and it was around 1am. Although she had the right to stop and get
refreshments or personal needs any time of the day she so chooses, her decision
to stop that night proved to be poor one.
Apparently, the items she purchased were miniscule ones such as some gum
and a scratch off ticket. Surely these
things could have waited. However, I get
the sense that this is something she did regularly and therefore felt
comfortable doing so.
In conclusion, always be aware of your surroundings. Watch the people who are watching you. If anything makes you uncomfortable, abort
mission and get out of there with your life.
Follow the aforementioned suggestions to give you the best chances to
avoid a dangerous situation all together.
Delbert Smith
Contributing Writer
Self defense & Martial Arts Instructor
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