My 17 year old cousin got carjacked yesterday.

Again, get in a habit of stopping so you can see the rear wheels of the vehicle in front of you, and you should have much better odds of just being able to hit the gas and turn the wheel.

If the car in front backs up without obvious cause (such as having overshot the stop line, and traffic starting to cross), it just might be time to clear a weapon.
 
As far as wondering, "why a Kia?" bear in mind that for many years, the most commonly stolen cars were fairly low-end Hondas. Why? They are all over the place, and the stolen cars can be used to supply parts under the table. The parts probably sell for a lot more than the assembled car would.

Look at whatever cars are popular in higher crime neighborhoods. Those models are strong candidates for theft for parts.

OTOH, a non-descript car makes a better getaway vehicle, so those are strong candidates for pre-robbery acquisition.
 
MLeake said:
The question is, at what point do you realize what has happened? At some point, you very well could be so far behind that resistance would have very poor odds.
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Very good point, having a CCW does not guarantee anything. Does having a CCW better your overall odds in these kinds of situations? Yes. Having multiple options is always a good idea.

In this circumstance I can create a very strong argument that situational awareness could have been enough to change the outcome of the event just as MLeake mentioned. I suppose one can also argue that it is not always easy to conduct our day to day life in a high or moderate state of alert.

This kind of scenario is one reason I like to keep at least one car-length opening between my vehicle and the next. The same applies to railroad crossings, red-light intersections, etc. Once an armed assailant has the drop on you, the chance(s) of pulling and using a weapon of any sort in self-defense effectively drops significantly IMO and even more so once you are boxed in a small car with limited physical mobility.

In short, maintain situations awareness - it is and should always be your first line of defense.
 
Marine513: If it isn't an American car or truck it isn't worth saving just sayin......
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I just wondered what the most commonly carjacked vehicle is and googled it. Don't know how current the info is but one site said Ford is the most commonly carjacked vehicle. Another vehicle said that carjackers don't
particularly carjack any one type. Didn't see any trend for Hondas or:):) Toyotas on the sites I checked.:)
 
TexasJustice7, I didn't say Hondas were the target du Jour. According to insurance reports I read in the press back around 2004, they were and had been the top targets, along with Toyota Corollas.

What I will bet is that the reports you found said that most cars stolen were common types, and not particularly high-end examples of the type.
 
MikeLeake: What I will bet is that the reports you found said that most cars stolen were common types, and not particularly high-end examples of the type.
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I actually did not recall your post on that. I read Marine13's post, and googled "carjacking" + "frequent cars" or something like that, and one website said that the most frequent car "carjacked" was fords, but another site, said carjackers don't pick any one kind. I don't know if that info I saw was current or not. I personally have never owend a Honda, don't own a Corolla either but I have owned Toyotas.

I figure that carjackers don't pick a particular brand to carjack, as it is more likely a crime of opporunity, whoever happens to be driving by. I have also owned a fords and cherolets. There are not as many carjackings in rural areas or at least I don't think there is as there are in big cities like Dallas.
I don't go to big cities because I hate driving in the traffic, if I can avoid it.
I figure no car is safe from them, regardless of the brand. And although I
live in Texas, I have never owned a pickup truck. :D
 
But I keep my smart keys under my shirt not visible. He will need them if I have a chance to kill the engine.
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Definitely an idea, with these modern cars. You could get out of the car and run like hell, maybe even push the "Alarm" button on your remote. By the time he figures out the engine's off, you're long gone, or inside a store or something.

Another method of carjacking is the "bump." You're sitting at a red light and a car rolls up and bumps you from behind. The driver gets out, acting very concerned, looking and frowning at the cars, etc. You get out and walk back and pow, he pulls or shows a piece and you're carjacked. A year or so back a woman was carjacked in exactly this manner. They took her somewhere and raped and murdered her.
 
One way to look at it is that if you have the ability to take a bad guy out and elect not to do so, you may be somewhat responsible for the person they kill next time they try to steal something when the person moved too slow.
 
I'd wait til he turned his back to me getting in the car as most do and then empty the magazine. Still getting a new car regardless because that ones gonna be full o holes and blood. I wouldn't want it anymore anyway.
 
It's a sticky situation, because if the thug already has the gun on you, you might be a fool to attempt to outdraw him. If he simply gets away with your car, then life goes on. If however, it appears he wants to take you or your loved ones with him, put him on ice immediately if you can. You have a much lower chance of survival if you are transported somewhere by a criminal.

If you get out of the car and then pull the gun on him/shoot him as he's driving away, you'd end up in BIG trouble. Not worth it. If you can make him freeze on the spot, it might be worth it, be then again, you could be harassed by the police, even though you didn't initiate the confrontation. Oh well, better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. You have to evaluate it on a case by case basis.

The best up front defense is to do your best to avoid seedy areas, especially at night. If you live in one, MOVE! I would if it came to that. Life is to short to live in a high risk area.
 
Ruark: Definitely an idea, with these modern cars. You could get out of the car and run like hell, maybe even push the "Alarm" button on your remote. By the time he figures out the engine's off, you're long gone, or inside a store or something.

Another method of carjacking is the "bump." You're sitting at a red light and a car rolls up and bumps you from behind. The driver gets out, acting very concerned, looking and frowning at the cars, etc. You get out and walk back and pow, he pulls or shows a piece and you're carjacked. A year or so back a woman was carjacked in exactly this manner. They took her somewhere and raped and murdered her.
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Yes. I was doing some more googling, and it does say on some sites that Toyota Camry's are the number one cars "stolen". I saw Ford on one site,
could not relocate it. But did see some other good suggestions regarding carjacking. One recommendation is to throw the key in one direction away from the carjacker and run the other direction, not toward the carjacker but away from the carjacker. They did not recommend thowing the keys at the carjacker though. The idea is what he does determines whether he wants the car or the victim more. In my case though, can't do that if my daughter is with me.

If one has that option or chance to throw the keys sounds to me like a good idea. A lot of the stats are distorted since the municipalities may record the incident as a robbery instead of a carjacking etc.
If one has extra gun or guns in the vehicle not on their person, and one surrenders the vehicle, that means the carjackers now have that gun to commit more crimes. I am highly susipicious when anyone approaches my vehicle, and I make an effort to get my gun out before they get close. But I worry about the times when I do not have one when headed for a federal facility.

Also it mentions on the bump and carjack on one site, that the accomplice stays around and drives the carjackers car away. I really like this thread,
because I had not given this matter much thought. One of my vehicles requires the smart key in the vehicle to start it, so killing the engine makes it almost impossible for him to take without the smart keys. I really like the idea of a remote start key for cold weather and even a remote shut down
might be a good idea. I may check to see what those options would cost me to add on my vehicles. :(
 
Or you could get OnStar for a GM, or an aftermarket tracking system for other cars, and have tracking activated as soon as you get off the 911 call.
 
If that happened to me I would have done exactly as your cousin did, gun or no gun. There is no need to have a shoot out over a Kia. Did they recover the car?
 
If that happened to me I would have done exactly as your cousin did, gun or no gun. There is no need to have a shoot out over a Kia. Did they recover the car?
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This is the same line of thought propagated by many on the left in response to violent criminals; "just give them what they want and then they will leave you alone." I have even seen it suggested that women don't fight back against rapists, to just let him have his way with them and then he will go on about his business when he is done. The fallacy with this line of thought is to assume that all the criminal wants is your wallet, or your watch, or your Kia. These are often violent sociopaths who not only want to rob you, they want to harm you. Many people have conceded to a gun wielding robbers demands, only to find themselves getting shot anyways. I am not saying that simply giving over the car is not the right move, it clearly worked for your cousin, but I think you need to be prepared to have a shoot out, not for a Kia, but for your life.
 
TKCRob: This is the same line of thought propagated by many on the left in response to violent criminals; "just give them what they want and then they will leave you alone." I have even seen it suggested that women don't fight back against rapists, to just let him have his way with them and then he will go on about his business when he is done. The fallacy with this line of thought is to assume that all the criminal wants is your wallet, or your watch, or your Kia. These are often violent sociopaths who not only want to rob you, they want to harm you. Many people have conceded to a gun wielding robbers demands, only to find themselves getting shot anyways. I am not saying that simply giving over the car is not the right move, it clearly worked for your cousin, but I think you need to be prepared to have a shoot out, not for a Kia, but for your life.
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I don't think anyone posting here is really advocating not resisting if there is opportunity to resist. The priority is surviving the encounter. I have a situation that demands that I draw if my daughter is with me, but otherwise I would try to get out of the encounter alive. I am not surrendering my property without using my gun either if I have the opporunity but if he has the drop on me, I would rather let him have my car which is insured anyway. If there is a chance to shoot him during the encounter I certainly would. But others have pointed out that there is very little time to draw your weapon if he is right at your door.
 
I agree with you TJ7, I probably didn't word my response well. I don't think anybody is advocating just rolling over, but I think there are many that think that if I just give them what they want they will leave me alone, and I think that is a dangerous line of thought. I, like you, do not have the option of just giving up my car, there will usually be a gorgeous 1 year old girl strapped in her car seat behind me and I am not going anywhere without her. But by the same token, even if she is not with me and I can give up the car, I also do not think her growing up with out a father is an acceptable option so I am going to do everything possible to keep myself out of a dangerous situation (situational awareness) and fight back if needed.
 
For a freakin' Kia? The world is going the heck in a hand basket...

Going back to the subject of T/T - the cousin did the right thing by letting the BG have the car. Would be different if there were loved ones in the car or if the BG was gonna kidnap him. If that were the case, fight 'till the BG is dead or you're dead. It don't matter because if they are going to kidnap you or your loved one, chances are you're dead anyway. This is why I carry a gun, pepper spray, and a knife almost all the time. In a world where BGs carjack Kias...well, you get it...
 
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