Rochelle Wynter believes in fitness and has the body to prove it. If she's not in the gym, she's out walking. Daily. She's the mother of two and, at 40-ish, is in the prime of her life. Career, husband, house in the Hamptons.

Crime? Something that happens to someone else.

Veronica Wehby, 39, media practitioner and former Miss Jamaica World contestant, is also a fitness fanatic. On this lady, the term onion booty is an understatement. And she works hard to keep it that way. With an uptown residence and SUV, she is also insulated from the desperate by her status. Or so it would seem.

On October 5, after an evening walk in Hope Pastures, St Andrew, Wynter arrived to find the rear windshield of her Honda Accord broken, her handbag, three phones, iPod and God knows what else spirited away. It was only afterwards that she was made to realise that break-ins and car thefts were commonplace in that area.

"I felt ... violated," she said. "It was like the pit of my stomach ... fell from me." She indicated after 20-odd years of walking activity, she has not been back after this incident.

The morning after, Wehby was driving towards her gym at around 5 in the morning, when, after turning on to East Dulwich Road from Barbican Road - in the vicinity of that first deep corner, she was motioned to stop by two males by the side of the road. Wisely, Wehby floored the accelerator. The assailants tried to block her path with a hail of gunfire.

that morning's horror

She escaped - shaken, but unharmed. A single bullet hole in the passenger door serves as a tell-tale reminder of that morning's horror.

"Surprisingly, I was calm during the incident. But by the time I stopped at the Canadian (High Commission), I was shaking like a leaf. I could barely hold the phone to call my fiancé," she said.

Both incidents happened within 24 hours of the fatal shooting of Elva Mullings, 45, in Bridgeview, Portmore, in her car. She was the managing director of Tools Hardware on South Camp Road, St Andrew.

Retired Assistant Police Commissioner Garnett Daley has warned motorists to be on the lookout. He advises the populace not to carry expensive electronics while going on walks. If this has to be done, they should not be left in the vehicle where they can be seen.

"A car is an easy enough target when it is left unattended," he said. "Such a crime can be completed in seconds because the car itself is not usually the target. Crackheads are notorious for these crimes and no suburb is immune."

He also advocates that the get-fit crew travel in a convoy. "There is always safety in numbers," he told Saturday Life.

While Wynter's crime is not technically a carjacking, as the car wasn't stolen, it is a crime of opportunity, which a carjacking is. Carjacking incidents could rise as the Yuletide season nears - and the unscrupulous are looking for gifts too.

Anywhere a car has to slow down or stop is prime for this crime. Be especially careful around ATMs and lonely parking lots.

Residential driveways or streets where drivers get out of cars - people who are unaware are especially vulnerable.

'bump-and-rob'

One tactic used by Jamaican thugs is the 'bump-and-rob', which works like this. A car carrying a driver and at least one passenger will 'innocently' bump their intended victim from the rear. When the prey jumps out of the car to inspect the damage, the extra man jumps in and drives away. The victim is usually submissive at this point, as he is staring down the barrel of a gun.

If you are bumped, be aware of your surroundings before you get out. Make sure there are other cars around. Check out the car that hits you - and who's in it. If you aren't sure of the situation, memorise or jot down the car's licence number and description, and signal the other car to follow. If you have to get out, take your keys and wallet/purse.

When driving, be sure to leave ample space for evasive manoeuvring around other cars when you stop. Late at night, drive in the middle of the road to take away some of your would-be attackers' advantage. Avoid driving alone, especially at night.

Finally, be aware of your surroundings. Fighter pilots have a term for this - they call it situational awareness. At Mach 2, you bet they have to know what is going on around them - a mistake at this speed would be pretty messy. The mental sharpness gained by observing your surroundings may save your life.

Real names withheld to preserve safety.

mario.james@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://kevincoffee.com/driving/how_to_avoid_carjacking.htm