Rules of the road

[Van Canna]

1.Have several “force options” at the ready. Police training recognizes these options as Presence, Dialogue, Control Alternatives, Protective Alternatives and Deadly Force, but you need not go through each of them, you can skip up or down as the situation dictates.
You want to be prepared to make the best immediate response given the situation

2.Stay alert and aware. You should always be aware of your 360-degree world, observing and reading people, noticing what stands out about people, and asking yourself questions such as: Does this person fit in? Is he behaving in a suspicious manner? Does this person look uncomfortable? Is he paying me undue attention?

It is preferable to blend in with the crowd and the environment so that you can go about your business unnoticed. At that same time you should notice who notices you. Also, you would do well to practice noticing details so you can give a description later if you need to. Observe people’s gestures and body language.

Observe their display of respect or lack of respect for personal boundaries.

Notice verbalisms, slang, and voice tone. Look into people’s eyes. The eyes are truly the windows to the soul. If you see no soul, consider yourself in trouble if you have to deal with the person.

3.Be prepared to communicate, move, shoot, and fight. Practice verbalizing convincing phrases in a commanding manner to disengage and terminate interactions that, if allowed to continue, can only go downhill. Practice issuing warnings with a command presence.

When a situation appears to be dangerous, keep moving. Always look for escape avenues. It is better to move and do something than to freeze.

4.This is not a sometimes deal. If you are going to live the armed lifestyle and carry a firearm, you should carry as often as is legally possible. Your weapons are like your insurance. You shouldn’t drive without car insurance. You shouldn’t own a home without homeowner’s insurance.

You can never know when you will need your insurance. That is why you must have it. Having insurance doesn’t mean you expect to have an accident, but it means you are prepared just in case. Likewise, you shouldn’t venture forth into the world, or be at home, without a firearm that is rapidly accessible.

The one time you go out unarmed might be the day that the convenience store is robbed at gunpoint and the armed robbers force everyone into the freezer.

5.Being prepared means having the right mindset to assertively, aggressively engage or surreptitiously disengage as the situation dictates. It means you are willing to do whatever you must do to survive. It means having the training to do whatever you must do to protect yourself and your loved ones, and it means having the right emergency rescue equipment on you or immediately accessible to you. Being ready means you are all set to go. You are geared up, equipped mentally and physically, and you have a plan for how you are going to act to counter an ambush.

~~
Bruce N. Eimer, Ph.D.,

[Stryke]

If theres ever an oppurtunity to practice being the grey man its on the road , good place to practice awareness too

when some Stronzo cuts you off ......tests your control pretty well

[Van Canna]

...good 'Stronzo' picture....here....


And how about 'Tiwanda'

It all brings to mind a scene from a movie made in the 90s called Fried Green Tomatoes. Two blonds in a red convertible steal a parking space from a middle aged, menopausal brunette in a sedan. The blonds flip their hair, make a snide comment about being younger and faster, then walk away with their noses in the air.

That’s when menopausal brunette goes totally over the edge shouting “Tiwanda!” and slams her sedan into the convertible numerous times. Her memorable response to the blonds’ dismay: “I’m older than you and have more insurance.” She is liberated and recreated in that single moment.

We’ve all been that brunette in thought, but few of us go so far as to take such violent action. We’ve all been the blonds, but we probably keep our vicious triumph to ourselves.

What possesses individuals to behave so irrationally over parking? Is it because we all feel so little ownership of our lives and control over our emotions that this arguably small and unimportant detail becomes a symbol for every impotent, frustrated aspect of our existence? Maybe.

Another theory is we’ve all lost sight of those magical, elusive things called manners and when, put in a situation where our anonymity is nearly guaranteed, we lower the standards for our behavior even further.

I’m not sure a little kindness and courtesy could put an end to terrible things like war or global warming, but they’d go a long way toward soothing the savage beast the wakes in all of us during the search for parking. I’ll try to remember that the next time I get the urge to shout “Tiwanda.”

[Van Canna]

“I’m older than you and have more insurance.” She is liberated and recreated in that single moment.

Except that she doesn't have more insurance...striking a car intentionally is not covered by an insurance policy.