I am not going to hold back on this, I don’t care about your views on guns and non-violence, I don’t care that you think it is the job of the employer to protect you against predators; what I care about is you always being prepared for the worse case scenario in any event whether at work or not. Understand that bad things happen, there are evil doers in this world, and these evil beings are opportunists. What you are to do is minimize the opportunities for these bastards to victimize you. You want to make them think twice about trying you!
At the end of the day ladies you want to be the one going home. The rideshare gig in my opinion is not for fair hearted weaklings, you gotta have some balls to be willing to use your personal vehicle (POV), pick-up strangers in sometimes the most conspicuous places, drive them to an unknown location however far away at all times of the day. If you are reading/watching this to consider doing rideshare and you’re easily fearful this may not be the gig for you and that is alright, but for those of us that are using these various gig type jobs as leverage to building our brands and companies to fund our dreams I encourage you to watch my vlog. My YouTube channel is CEO DRIVEHER, and continue reading this blog.
Now, here is my disclaimer please read all rideshare and gig job rules and requirements and abide by them on all platforms you use, but also learn and know your city and state’s laws that justify actions taken by you if ever in a position you must protect yourself. I am not suggesting violating any of these platforms rules but there are some gray areas you can use to your advantage. I have a law enforcement background of almost 15 years, I am certified through the state of Georgia in a number of areas and having hundreds of hours of training in self-defense, criminal studies, firearms, etc. I started out driving primarily working late nights sometimes till 4am which are seemingly high risk hours picking up and dropping off in some “risky / questionable” areas. My fear factor is not high and I believe I’ve minimized the chances of me being victimized is due to my background and being able to do some of the things I am about to share. But let us first discuss what you are not to do under any circumstance:
- Don’t go Rogue: never do cash rides never never never do it, at least the app serves as some form of accountability. If a rider suggest you taking cash instead of using the app be prepared to deal with the consequences.
- Don’t give Personal data: unless you are certain that the connect is legit and you can vet the person, just don’t do it. I’ve had many men call me through the app after a trip or try to contact me for dates which is just creepy.
- Don’t be a Sucker: some folks are just gullible and naive, don’t believe them no matter what they offer you, I’ve had men offer hundreds of dollars to hang out or come up to their place for drinks and small talk (again creepy). The attention and flattery can be alluring, but don’t give in to it, always remain professional and professionally declining their offers.
So I am going to litely to go over what I outlined in my YouTube vlog as some things I strongly suggest you do to ensure you are protected and confident enough whether in rideshare or any other place of work to take control of a matter that may be a threat to you. As a jailer for many years serving in various positions and ranks as an officer I studied “criminals” from afar. I watched how they preyed on others, I listened to their phone calls, I’ve read and studied police reports of how some of these criminals viciously carried out their crimes, particularly crimes against women. My father who is currently a high ranking officer serving as a Captain over criminal investigations always insisted since as a little girl that I protect myself and always be aware of my surroundings (known as situational awareness). As times get worse in the world I become more and more cognizant of always being on guard. Listed below are some of my suggestions to minimize being a victim.
- Set the tone and be able to vocalize your contention in a matter you’re not comfortable with. Instincts are everything, don’t doubt your gut. It’s okay to be frightened and have fear, fear is simply a gauge that allows you to calibrate and make a judgement call in a situation. Instincts can save your life, stop sparing people’s feeling and be upfront if you disagree with something like allowing the passenger to sit in the front seat, or making you drive in unfamiliar area that is not on the navigation, or sexual advances; speak up!
- Eye contact allows entry into the soul; vet the individuals and drop off location. Make strong eye contact, it is a proven that it can ward off predators, they don’t want the nightmare and constant reflection of themselves in your eyes. Criminals don’t like eye contact plus they don’t want you to be able to identify them if need be. I force strong eye contact for a few seconds and while confirming the drop off location again I make eye contact.
- Toughen up mama! Don’t be passive aggressive! Set strong boundaries for yourself. As a life-coach I pride myself on teaching this, if I may I want to encourage you to literally write down your boundaries that you don’t want violated and repeat them to yourself daily. This will allow you to stay true to them and not compromise. Your body, your space, your car, your rules!
- Your body and and spirit’s disposition is key. Have a strong presence and voice. Don’t be timid in your speech, be confident. You can be personable and nice yet assertive. This includes how you’re dressed and how well you’ve maintained your vehicle; if you look and feel respectable most people will honor that in return and as we say in the streets “they won’t try you!”.
- Part-take in some form of self-defense on a weekly basis and workout. This will build your confidence and prepare you for those moments of if and when you’re in flight or fright mode. I also suggest carrying a weapon of some form (I will discuss this more in detail in another blog, but as a disclaimer please follow the guidelines in regards to weapons of whichever rideshare platform you’re using.) A weapon can be anything *side smirk* if you know how to use it to save your life! I still suggest firearms training reason being is firearms are not just learning how to accurately shoot on target, but how to possibly disarm an individual or if they drop their weapon how you can use it against them, etc. It is highly informative and can allow you to react quickly in the unfortunate event a firearm is pulled out on. I also suggest training on the use of knives, but some self-defense classes incorporate this being rape predators tend to arm themselves with them.
Whelp I hope I haven’t scared you off and you see my position. As a driver for the most part I feel safe and I haven’t had a lot of incidents reason being I possess various skills that I feel grants some securities. Should these platforms do a better job at vetting riders? Yes. Should these platforms how riders accountable for inappropriate actions towards drivers? Yes. Should the bare the responsibility of protecting drivers? Damn right, but they just aren’t. So in the interim and as legislation forces their hand in various matters you must bare the responsibility yourself ladies or just opt out from this type of gig.
THE CEO DRIVEHER 