Tips On How To Defend Yourself From Attack When Driving

Imagine you are driving a car down the highway at top speed with a passenger seated in front or rear. All of a sudden you are attacked! What do you do? At this moment a distraction while on the steering could prove fatal. A split second of wrong maneuver could cause the car to tumble. This is a situation where defensive driving comes very handy. As frightful as this scenario maybe, in reality we are exposed to this risk everyday, especially commercial drivers that constantly pick up total strangers. We will be looking at some defensive skills and how to neutralize a potential threat.


Be Aware

Take a good look at the passenger or passengers before they get into the car or while they are settling into the car to see if anything appears suspicious. Remember, hands can kill, so look at their hands to see if they are carrying (or hiding) anything that may be used against you.


Get Your Guard Up

Remember that you are in a very close environment. You will not be able to kick or use any footwork to get out of the way of an incoming attack. Be observant, the moment an attack begins, immediately bring up your free hand (right hand for most people) into what is called the “Helmet Guard.” This is a block to protect your head. Essentially, wrap your hand around the back of your head and bring your arm in close to your ear. Hunch your shoulders and lean forward, bringing your chin down (to prevent the attacker from slipping his arm under your chin and choking you out). The video below illustrates this well.


Defend Against Choke

If the aggressive passenger is trying to choke you, you must get your hands up and on to their arm and pull down to relieve pressure on your throat so you can breathe. If possible, grab one of his fingers or thumb and rip it back, thus breaking his hold temporarily. If you feel you need to bite him, do so. Bite viciously until he releases! (This should be a last resort, you wouldn’t want to draw blood since you may expose yourself to contracting bad diseases.) Once you have broken the choke, turn around as fast as possible and stab him in the eyes with your fingers or strike him in the throat with a Y-hand strike.


Use Your Environment

Don’t forget to use your environment. You can smash his head or arms or hands into the frame of the car to inflict pain and disorient your attacker. If the attacker is seated next to you, again use the “helmet guard” to protect your head from strikes. While you have your “helmet guard” up, simultaneously attack his eyes or throat with savage strikes. You can’t be nice.

If you are being attacked from outside the car, follow the advice of combat expert Nick Drossos by watching the video below.


Use Effective Choke

While it’s effective to strike your attacker, it is also good to know how to put an effective choke on someone. In a fight, you may somehow wind up on the bottom, and it’s powerful to know how to choke your attacker in that position. So, here is a video on some tips on how to avoid an attack in a car and then how to use three effective chokes should the need arise.

There things to protect yourself with (though weapons are not advisable due to fatalities) but you can neutralize an aggressive situation by carrying a portable tear-gas or pepper spray with you or in your car where it’s quickly reachable to disorientate your attacker. Visit our online store to view or order a pepper spray by following this link: I Need My Protection 

About Nonso Okafor

I've worked as a technical support representative in major auto centers in Nigeria for more than twenty years. I have dealt with a variety of problems in my capacity as a customer service representative and auto diagnostics expert. I'm committed to assisting people in properly maintaining their automobiles and in appreciating this magnificent innovation known as an automobile.

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