Walking alone at night

Some time ago when I used to drink, I would walk out of the pub with no coin in my pocket so I would have to trek home deep into the night. This is risky so I devised a method of walking at night and be able to deter thugs. I would walk in the middle of the road with a walking style mimicking somebody in the forces with one of my hands making a protrusion from inside my pullouer to look like a hidden but cocked pistol. Needless to say, everyone I met kept a clear distance.

 

I walk a lot at night, to check up on my elderly parents. Their home is maybe 3oo yards away. One thing I always have is a headlight. So that I can see, though my hands are free. I keep the porch lights on at both houses. Lately I have been taking an alternative route. I mowed a trail through the back side of the property that takes me from their house to my house. It's dark back there but I can see fine with the headlight. I feel safer going that way. It's more private.

 

Walking alone at night without some good environmental awareness is risky in the wilderness, and a death wish in the most dangerous shanty town you can imagine. Anyway, talking in a situation where you are lost in the wild, You should not venture to unknown places alone at night, is hard to tell which stuff concealed in darkness awaits you far away from your safe place, at least you have night vision goggles .

 

I try not to walk alone at night. If I do I always carry a knife in my pocket. I also like to keep my cell phone in my hand, or even call someone if possible. I figure if they see I have easy access for help they might think twice.

 

This is the problem in our country. Night walking is risky particularly after midnight when the streets are almost deserted. It is even safer in the rural area because the crime rate is lower. But in the city and even in the suburbs where we live, it is suicidal for a person to walk alone in the streets at night. In the former city where we rented a house for 5 years, there were so many cases of mugging and one case of rape. To think that our area is the same area with the city hall which is just a block away, those criminals are so hardened. And they are hardened because of the drugs that they take - most of them are users and some are drug pushers.

In our village now, there is a security guard at the gate so the crime is minimized. But we cannot be too sure although the village head assures us that we are somehow safe because there is also a roving guard. A total of 5 security guards are manning the village at night. But then, why expose myself to danger when I can take a ride home?

 

I usually don't walk alone. If I do, I always have my pistol since military with an active CAC card are able to carry and conceal a weapon in the state of Georgia. I do not take any chances at all. I also have great situational awareness.

 

I stayed late one night after class at University. I was researching for a term paper, and lost track of time. Coming out of the library, it was nearly dusk but I was aware of a young man hanging around suspiciously near the door.

He may not have planned anything. I don't know for sure, and never will now. But at the time, all my senses were screaming: "danger!"

To get to my vehicle in a parking lot near the campus, I took a different (further) route. I walked in front of the library and the president's building. I made it to my van, locked the door immediately, and drove out of the parking lot. And there he was. Right there, about 50 yards from me. He gave me such a look. I still remember it.

Trust your instincts. Always.

 

I abide by the buddy system. I do not like walking alone at night, though I have done this on numerous occasions. It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I realized how dangerous it could be.

I drove my car to a local liquor store a few years ago. There was no parking in the initial parking lot, so I parked a small distance down the street. I walked to the liquor store and found myself in a sticky situation. Several men surrounded me and asked me for my information. I was lucky that they were not physically aggressive and simply let me walk passed them, but it scared the hell out of me. I now feel the need to have a buddy with me at night, so long as it's a not so good area. I will still walk alone at night, but only for small distances and in well lit areas.

 

When you walk at night or even in the day walk with purpose! walk like you own the night!
Do not try to avoid people! do not look away, be polite but do not stop!
Do not engage in conversation, do not stop!
Be confident enough but not too much and do not show you are scared!

Bad guys look for prey! fearful people are prey easy prey!
I have walked many dangerous places and through many dangerous events!
Conduct yourself with confidence but humility and you get left alone!
My experience anyway yours may differ!

 

As @BeautifullyBree said, I follow her method of talking on the phone if I am in a situation where I have to walk alone at night. I live in an urban area, so my fears are always human dangers. I have a friend who is particularly useful; he answers the phone every time I call and is always willing to chat until I'm with others or safely home.

 

Walking alone at night is something I do not like even before when I was still a teen ager. Nowadays we are not safe everywhere. Sometimes even inside the premises of our own home at night we are not sure that we are protected. What more outside the street walking alone at night the more it is risky.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is a good idea. I've seen people who looked dangerous turn away after they see me talking on the phone. If I can't get someone to awnser I'll pull up my keypad just ready to dial! I promise if they kidnap me I'm still gonna call 911 first!

 

I think it's a good idea because if you were considering mugging someone or kidnapping them, or whatever awful things people want to do, if you leave their call connected then you have an audio witness, and if you go to the effort of grabbing their phone to end the phone call, you're giving them chance to escape and/or disarm you. So it's only a small thing, but it's perhaps something that will make a "bad guy" think twice about attacking me.

 

Absolutely! There is always a chance you could be lucky. 911 operators can track the phone calls if it's left connected. They may also hear some valuable information. If I dropped my phone I would loudly yell a description of my attacker, the plate number, or anything I could think of. I might sound crazy, but anything is worth trying.

 

Have you considered any self defense classes or anything? I used to be part of a karate group and a kickboxing group, but we only really learned the basics of fighting in a controlled environment. But even if you couldn't fight someone off, maybe you could at least stall them while the phone call gives people the information to find you.

 

"Have you considered any self defense classes or anything? I used to be part of a karate group and a kickboxing group, but we only really learned the basics of fighting in a controlled environment. But even if you couldn't fight someone off, maybe you could at least stall them while the phone call gives people the information to find you."

Run but do not fight unless you think you have a good chance to win!
Fighting changes you from a helpless victim into a "Combatant"
Victims are rarely killed or beaten they get used and usually discarded but only occasionally killed.
Combatants if they fail are on most occasions killed.

The choice is always yours to make and it is your assessment of yourself that counts!
If you want to be a combatant put a lot of effort into training etc

The above applies to both genders but to females more!

 

Yeah, that's a fair point. I always think it would be easier to run if you have somewhat disarmed your assailant though, perhaps by tripping him up or throwing something into his path that he has to dodge to catch up with you. It's also difficult to decide at which point to start running. You presumably don't know when you are about to be attacked, and if it's sudden, running might not be an option as you might be grabbed into a position you can't pull away from easily. So self defense classes might at least teach you how to untangle yourself from being locked into positions so that you can run.

 

I haven't ever taken any lessons. I think its a great idea, and would honestly probably be fun! I've been know to hold my own, but I'd rather be prepared than sorry. It seems like people always wish they would have done something when its to late. I don't want to be that person!

 

I don't walk alone at night. I would call someone to come get me or if it was my only option I would stay home. However, if it comes to the situation where you have to walk alone at night (I can't think of many instances where that would be the case), maybe other than work or something, I would carry a gun.

 

Are you allowed to carry pepper spray? Maybe even try a tazer.

 

Vehicles and motorbikes are not safe things either. Gangsters aren't always on foot. I have heard of cases of forcible abductions of pedestrians. They then ask you to phone your relatives asking for ransom. There are even rapes after such abductions as well as rumours of ritual sacrifices. You find a person murdered by people who he or she didn't know after such abductions. I know of a person who was abducted and had to struggle out of the vehicle and he miraculously escaped by the grace of God.

 

Abductions are not random they are targeted!
Don't get targeted, don't set patterns walking anywhere!

Best thing you can carry in somewhere like the uk is an Airhorn in a can!
Discretly grab it from bag and aim as close to there ear as possible and let rip!
Run or kick in nuts and run! keep hold of can its louder than you screaming!

 

I try to avoid walking in the dark, especially alone as a woman. There are some situations where I had no other choice and did not even know the area well enough. What I do is try to stay close to areas where there are a lot of lights instead of walking in pitch dark places. Plus it is always a good idea to stay calm and confident, always walk straight as if you know where you are going (even if you might be unsure!). Stay confident that will help you, by showing you are not sure where you are, others might use that weakness and try to harm you. I also like to take out my cellphone and pretend I am talking to someone, so others can see that I can easily call someone for help. Other than that, I learned and would recommend to not scream for help but to scream: "Fire, Fire!" instead.
In Germany, the crime rate is quite low, but still a lot of bad things can happen if you are at the wrong place at the wrong time. In USA, I feared more for my life. I remember one time, I was taking a taxi home from a birthday party because I was so drunk. Even though my friend paid for the taxi beforehand, when we reached my place he actually told me I owe him money. I said I would have to go to my place and search for it, but unfortunately I did not have any money at the time. The taxi driver actually followed me into my apartment and guess what? He stole my new bought vacuum cleaner and disappeared! At least he did not hurt me but still, this is an example that could have turned completely differently.

 

U should not have allowed the taximan to follow you to your apartment. The situation could have turned out to be more wrong than what it had turned out to be. The state you were in more than likely had rendered you incapable of doing anything about the taximan's action. This incident should enlighten you to the fact that you should not only be fearful of walking in dark places but that you should not be travelling alone if you are drunk.

 

You are absolutely right, explorerx7! It did teach me a lot.

 

Is it advisable that you should run? I don't think so. You should walk slowly so that you can't fall and hurt yourself. My cousin told me how he used to make noises pretending that he was talking to somebody nearby. If one is going far then they should better seek for shelter. This is the only way one can avoid being robbed.

 

Being aware and prepared makes a big difference. In every situation that someone has been robbed or attacked they weren't ready for it. I have been robbed before and it was because I was careless, drunk and too brave for my own good. In the situation that I was robbed I was not afraid of my enemies but underestimated them, I never knew a gun would be involved I thought they were going to try and jump me and I know how to fight well. In this situation they gave me the impression that this wouldn't involved guns which was smart on there part because I would have had one too. These punks threatened me ahead of time and said they would jump me, but this is what I was ready for. The surprise was when they confronted me one of them had a gun and I was unarmed then they just robbed me and one of them hit me, thank God he hit like a five year old.
If I had to fight them they wouldn't stand a chance telling by how weak one of there punches were, but they knew this too that's why they brought a gun. The moral of this story is you can change your attackers plans by being ready for anything and taking all threats seriously. Later someone came back to my home and was creeping around on the property at night I caught them on our security cameras. This time I was sober armed and ready, knowing that these guys had my address because it was in my wallet that they took. I didn't have to shoot any body but them knowing I had a gun was something they didn't want to deal with. Stay alert, don't underestimate anyone, be prepared.

 

In my young age, I feared no one and I enjoyed walking alone at night. I did not fear ghost, I did not fear thugs. I even walked in the jungle and did not fear animals and insects. As I began to grow older, fear of un known began creep inside me. These days I don't walk at night, if I have to walk I must always be accompanied by someone.

I remember this incident from young age. I was traveling to my farm and was dropped at the highway at 1 AM. From the highway, I had to walk 30 minutes to reach my farm house. I walked in the night. It was funny to see some men running away thinking I was a ghost.

 

I do a lot of walking in the dark at night, because I am the head of my household and, because my mother has chronic illnesses and my son and daughter are too young and scary to go out at night, because we have no neighbors and we live in the deep country where a bear, coyote, deer or anything will jump out of the woods in front of you! So, I am the super hero at night to go to make sure the barn is locked up and secured and the dogs, cats and chickens are safe and fed and keep in mind this is all done in minimum lightening, because we don't get good light sources where we live; so it's kind of like I am doing it in the pitch black dark and praying that a snake don't pop up at me!

 

I worked at a strip club couple years ago and I get off at 2 to 3 in the morning and I'd have to walk home at night the biggest thing you can think of is water a knife and a flashlight but i always carry that on me situational awareness is a good thing to have because people can be quiet too you may think that you're not seen But there are people out there that are watching I had one situation happened to me where there was a group of kids I want to get a pack of cigarettes so basically what I did was I walk past them got my cigarettes walked out and they started to follow me my situation awareness was key for that night because they followed me until I can get to some place so I can get out Sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of view and be quiet

 

I take it that you live in a city due to strip club employment in past. Are you a bouncer or a bartender? Are you a fighter? Are you able to get a permit to carry a handgun? A knife will do you very limited good when up against a gang. If you can't get a permit to carry, then have a profoundly loud alarm device difficult to turn off. No gun = get a ride / call a cab to get home at night. Otherwise, you are a sitting duck.

Never figure on being out of site. People on the street ARE going to know that you are out walking. Figure on always being a potential victim when on the streets, especially at night.

Give us some more information so that people's answers will have more to work on.

 

If there is electricity out at the barn or outbuildings, install an outdoor light near the door. Sans light, carry a big lantern / flashlight.

If you are in a rural location, then you need a shotgun. Don't you already own one?! Carry that with you. A 20 ga. would serve you well. Ammo: get slugs for big critters, buckshot is so-so. For snakes, birdshot will do. When shooting a critter at night, hold the flashlight in your left hand and also with your left hand hold the forend of the shotgun -- this is so you can light-up your target.

Look at the narrow handle atop this lantern, it would be easy to hold this lantern while holding the front of your shotgun.
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I used to work in downtown Nashville. I would go in early to avoid traffic, but this meant I got there before the sun came up. I had to walk 6 blocks from my parking area to get to my office. It was always so scary. More often than not, someone would make a creepy comment to me. I was not allowed to carry a weapon because they were not allowed in my building. I started carrying my car keys in my hand with the intent to stab anyone who made a move at me. I'll kick, scream, punch, bite, claw, whatever I have to do to get away. There isn't a chance I would go down without a fight. But I always stay cautious and prepared when I am alone.

 

I've got a story about Nashville, but the story is too long and involved. Suffice it to say that on that occasion, I was glad I had a chopped nine cocked and locked in my coat pocket. Luckily, the ###-hole keeping his eye on me was looking for someone else. Better safe than sorry.

 

I would caution you on speaking on the phone while walking. I've never met anyone who can keep their situational awareness turned up to maximum while on the phone. We are also seeing a new class of thugs (specifically the crew that live-streamed their torture of a mentally handicapped guy) who aren't afraid of being caught. They think they are smarter than the police and don't care. The buddy system is a good alternative if possible.

I won't say "don't walk alone at night" because no one other than you knows your financial situation, life choices you have to make, etc. If you must walk at night, be prepared. If you can carry a firearm, do so (legally) and know how to use it. If you can't, carry a knife, pepper spray, etc. Failing that, a good flashlight will do in a pinch. You can obviously use it to see, use it as a backstop to protect your closed fist for a strike, and if you a good one it will have a knurled front end that can do serious damage to soft tissue like a face. If you get one in the 300 lumen range, it's also quite useful for temporarily blinding and disorienting shady characters.

As Lonewolf said, situational awareness is king.

 

Your post is quite spot-on, however in reference to the felons, you inadvertently used the word, "think".

I don't think that we should be thinking about thought in reference to these thugs.

Thanks!

 

One thing I have always learned in this lifetime is to always be aware of your surroundings no matter.
Whenever I wake up and I personally get a sense of paranoia. When that sets in I'm always aware and ready before anything happens.

 

That's hilarious.. I walk the streets a lot late at night sometimes for fun. Whenever I'm in my pullover people do tend to keep their distance cause they might be thinking we about to rob someone or do something terrible.

 

I should get a pullover too then.

Where I live, it's relatively safe to walk alone at night. You could still get mugged if you're not careful.

I have a pepper spray handy, keys... and a very loud voice.